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Inside: Education

and Luxury Living Special Sections Education A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

September 2016

A Nation’s Loss

Minority Students Underreprese

nted in Gifted Programs

Across U.S. t BY CAROLYN COSMOS

ecades of research have documented a pervasive problem in American public schools and tried to offer a variety of solutions — to little effect: The general neglect of gifted students with a persistent underrepresen coupled tation of low-income and minority kids in talented programs nationwide. gifted and

VOLUME 23, NUMBER 9

United Nations

Race Heats Up For Next U.N. Secretary-General What do Portugal, Argentina, New Zealand and Costa Rica have in common with eight Eastern European countries — five of which used to form part of Yugoslavia? Not much, really, except that all are fielding candidates to replace United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon when his term expires on Dec. 31. / PAGE 6

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GREECE ON FRONTLINES

South Sudan Envoy Insists Young Nation Can Overcome War

Culture

African Artists Take on Time Time loops, layers and jumps in a new video- and film-based exhibition at the National Museum of African Art. / PAGE 32

SEPTEMBER 2016

People of World Influence SEE GIFTED t PAGE 22

NUSACC Is U.S. Bridge To Arab Business |

| 21

Despite reports that often portray an Arab landscape in chaos, David Hamod, president and CEO of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, says business between the U.S. and Arab world is brisk. In fact, the Iowaborn businessman who is of Lebanese, Irish and Norwegian descent described economic ties as stronger than ever. / PAGE 4

Africa

South Sudan will likely postpone its 2018 presidential elections because of recent violence, according to Ambassador Garang Diing Akuong, although he insists his government doesn’t want to go back to war and that his boss isn’t at fault for this latest bout of bloodshed. / PAGE 8

Many people assume that smarter kids naturally get school, but they face their ahead in own unique set of obstacles. thing, certain behaviors can For one be misinterpreted. Social skills may lag behind academic ones. The assumption that bright will automatically succeed students without additional resources hold back high-achieving can also children, whose particular talents often need to be nurtured just like any other special needs. Even identifying the parameters of what it means to be and talented” — high IQ, above-average reading scores, “gifted aptitude, motivation, potential creative etc. — is fraught with difficulty. Many of those challenges are disparities, a timely issue given compounded by ethnic and racial the bitter racial discord in election year and debates this U.S. about elitism and the 1 percenters. Studies have consistently shown that black and Latino students are far less likely than their white in gifted and talented programs, or Asian peers to participate scores among the four groups. often mirroring the gap in test But a study by Vanderbilt University published earlier found a stark difference this year even with similar test scores: When among white and black students scholars surveyed 10,000 ementary children with the U.S. same math and reading scores, elfound that a high-scoring they white student was twice likely scoring black student to get as a highassigned to a gifted and talented gram (interestingly, the gap probetween Hispanic and white virtually disappeared). students “We document that even among students with high ized test scores, black students standardare less likely to be assigned gifted services in both math to and reading, a pattern that when controlling for other persists background factors, such and socioeconomic status, as health and characteristics of classrooms schools,” wrote researchers and Jason A. Grissom and Christopher Redding. A January 2016 article in U.S. the Vanderbilt study did uncoverNews & World Report noted that one factor that seemed to the playing field: When high-achieving level black children were taught by a black teacher, they were just ing white children to be assigned as likely as similar high-achievto a gifted program. Similarly, a 2016 Atlantic piece on the study titled “Why Are There So Few Black Children possible racial bias, conscious in Gifted Programs?” pointed to rals as one possible explanation.and unconscious, in teacher referThe Vanderbilt scholars, however, were careful not to draw conclusions about cause and effect biased. In many school districts,or labeling non-black teachers as for example, tests not teachers determine gifted eligibility. Theories behind this black-white divide include varying ceptions of behavior (one student may be labeled a problem perchild,

Diplomatic Spouses

As world leaders converge on New York to debate the refugee crisis, cash-strapped Greece finds itself on the frontlines of the mass exodus of people washing up on Europe’s shores. Haris Lalacos, Greece’s new envoy, tells us why the refugee crisis is a global problem that “requires an international approach to a long-term solution — and this has not happened yet.” / PAGE 13

EU Wife Does Diplomacy By Design Living through a home renovation is never easy. But most architects and interior designers don’t sleep inside their projects. Agnes O’Hare does. The wife of EU Ambassador David O’Sullivan, O’Hare is an architect and interior designer who has taken on the job of remodeling the bloc’s Kalorama residence. / PAGE 33

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Issue 9

September 2016

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Contents

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

21 NEWS 4

People of World Influence David Hamod bridges the divide between U.S. businesses and the Arab world.

U.N.’s New Boss Women and Eastern Europeans are among the diplomats vying for the top spot at the U.N.

Athens Feels Abandoned Greeks and stranded refugees alike feel abandoned by Europe and the world.

35 Bonsai Refuge

EDUCATION

36 Will and Jane Literary giants William Shakespeare and Jane Austen inspire a “cult of celebrity” at the Folger.

Medical Early prostate cancer diagnoses continue to fall, but experts aren’t sure if that’s good or bad.

South Sudan at War, Again South Sudan’s envoy denies his government is complicit in this latest round of violence.

21 Gifted and Neglected Minority students are underrepresented in gifted and talented programs across the U.S.

10 The Next London

LUXURY LIVING

The race is on to replace London as Europe’s post-Brexit financial hub.

Cover Profile: Greece Greece struggles as ground zero of Europe’s worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.

An oasis of tiny trees awaits visitors at the Japan Information and Culture Center.

Bawdy Sounds

Jazz, blues and ragtime take the stage in “Jelly’s Last Jam.”

27 Living Symbols The embassies of Monaco and Norway proudly celebrate two different milestones.

CULTURE 32

Angst in Heartland Anger and unease are gripping the U.S. heartland as the election nears.

About Time The world doesn’t stay still at the National Museum of African Art.

Subsidizing Pollution Despite the costs, countries have resisted phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.

Gander Heroes A tiny Canadian town opened its arms to stranded 9/11 passengers.

Diplomatic Spouses The architect wife of the EU’s envoy supervises a renovation of the residence.

REGULARS 38 Cinema Listing 40 Events Listing 42 Diplomatic Spotlight 45

World Holidays

46 Classifieds 47 Real Estate Classifieds THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016 | 3

WD | People of World Influence

Bridge to Business Chamber of Commerce Head Brings U.S., Arab World Together by Michael Coleman

avid Hamod, president and CEO of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, views his organization as a bridge for business between Arab countries and the United States. Despite news reports that often portray an Arab landscape in chaos, Hamod says business is brisk. In fact, the Iowa-born businessman who is of Lebanese, Irish and Norwegian descent described economic ties between Arab countries and the United States as stronger than ever. Founded almost 50 years ago, the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC) is the only business entity in the United States recognized and accredited by the League of Arab States and the General Union of Arab Chambers. “That’s important because it is effectively the Good Housekeeping Seal of approval and gives us a quasi-official position,” Hamod told The Diplomat. “There are many chambers of commerce in the U.S., just as there are in many parts of the world, but we are recognized as the U.S.-Arab Chamber by the authorities in the Arab world.” NUSACC maintains connections with more than 20,000 companies interested in trade between the 22 countries of the Arab world and the United States — most of them small- and medium-size businesses based in the U.S. At the same time, the fastest-growing segment of the chamber is Fortune 500 companies. “We have five offices around the United States serving our clients — predominantly U.S companies — and we do commercial certification for many U.S. companies who are exporting to the Arab world,” Hamod said. Hamod has been a prominent member of the U.S. business community for more than two decades. In 1988, he founded Intercom International Consultants, a Washington‐based consulting firm that has served as an advisor to numerous business groups, including more than 30 U.S. companies. As president of Intercom, Hamod served on the International Policy Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for more than a decade. Prior to founding Intercom, Hamod worked for the Brookings Institution, IBM Corp., Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the New York Times, among other organizations. He is frequently called to testify before Congress on business and trade issues. Hamod also hopscotches around the globe and across America on numerous trade missions to drum up business. Exports of U.S. goods

4 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region stood at $67.4 billion in 2015, though that was a dip from $71.4 billion the year prior. The NUSACC wants to see those numbers climb back up. To do that, the group supports an array of events. It regularly honors ambassadors from nations such as Lebanon and Tunisia and hosts prime ministers and foreign ministers. It also participates in events ranging from a Saudi Stock Exchange road show in New York City and the first-ever Kuwait Investment Forum, to a Morocco Trade and Investment Forum in Atlanta and a Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority visit to California. The Diplomat recently caught up with Hamod to speak to him about the chamber, the effect of depressed oil prices on Arab economies, antiIslamic rhetoric in American politics and more.

“

Certainly, there is some turmoil in certain pockets of the Arab world, but it is not correct to portray it as a region on fire. In fact, it continues to be one of the best places in the world for the United States to do business. David Hamod

”

CEO and president of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce

*This interview has been edited for space and clarity. The Washington Diplomat: It might surprise people to hear that business between the U.S. and Arab countries is so robust given the state of affairs and ongoing conflict in much of the Arab world. David Hamod: There is a perception that the whole Arab world is on fire. Certainly, there is some turmoil in certain pockets of the Arab world, but it is not correct to portray it as a region on fire. In fact, it continues to be one of the best places in the world for the United States to do business.

Photo: National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce

In a nutshell, U.S. exports to the Arab world have been doubling every four years and to my knowledge that is unprecedented in the world. With the current economic slowdown worldwide, U.S. exports have dipped about 5 percent in the past year to just under $70 billion for the year 2015. Some of that is the drop in oil prices and some of that is the result of the global slowdown. The drop in oil prices is a two-edged sword. Some projects are being put on hold and those will wait until the oil prices rise again, but when the chips are down, that is the perfect time to implement economic reforms that may be overdue. That’s part of what we’re seeing in the Arab world right now — new initiatives that are focused on reforms to the economy that will better position the Arab world when the current slowdown ends. One sees that in Saudi Arabia today with the new leadership there, but it is also very apparent in many other countries, as well. Eventually prices will go back again. I’m not saying they’ll go back up to $130 a barrel, but I believe they will rise.

TWD: Tell us more about how the drop in oil prices is forcing the Arab region to rethink their economies and how that fits into what you do here at the U.S.-Arab Chamber. Hamod: Historically, the Arab world writ-large has been based on hydrocarbons. Either countries produce the hydrocarbons themselves or through their largesse they have helped to support other countries that aren’t blessed with oil and gas resources. What we are seeing today is a historic shift away from dependence on hydrocarbons, a greater diversification and a focus on knowledge-based economies. That creates new opportunities for U.S. companies because the Arab world is looking for companies that will provide greater value. It’s a great scenario for American companies which, in my opinion, provide the best value of any companies in the world. That transition to knowledge-based economies that emphasize U.S. services — university, health care systems, legal advice, finance — is expertise that the Arab world is drawing on increasingly. Many governments are standardizing or rationalizing their economies

and seeking greater accountability from their citizens. In the past, some people got a free ride from cradle to the grave. Part of the message coming out of the Arab world right now is we need you to support the economy, as well. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, any Arab leader who does not listen to his people, particularly the youth, does so at his own peril. We’re seeing sweeping changes across the Arab world — ones that will have economic implications for decades to come. The UAE and Saudi Arabia … have been very thoughtful, very progressive in some of the changes they have helped to bring about on the ground.

health care, they’re sending their kids to American universities and working with Americans as business partners because what they see is what they get. We have rules to fight the corruption that some of these countries don’t have. TWD: We’re obviously in an election year. What do you make of the fact that Islam has become a talking point for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump?

Photo: National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce

TWD: Are most your members Arab businesses? How would you characterize your membership? Hamod: We’re not representative of the Arab community in the U.S. The vast majority of the 25,000 stakeholder companies we serve are not Arab-American, but they are interested in doing business with the Arab world because it’s a great market. Very often companies and also governments will ask our advice under the circumstances because they know we have one foot in other cultures. We can direct them to the most reputable entities in the U.S. This job requires a very high degree of trust. In the course of our nearly 50 years, the chamber has earned the trust of many leaders throughout the Arab world at that high level. Our trust and confidence are extremely important because so much of what is done in the Middle East is based upon relationships. TWD: Does violent conflict in the Arab world, or at least the perception of violent conflict, negatively affect the business climate here in the U.S.? Hamod: To a certain extent, yes, although most of the conflict we see in the Arab world today has been lingering for several years. It’s hard to pin the conflict on the drop in U.S. exports, although I guess one could argue that. With more resources going to tackle turmoil, those parts of the Arab world that are facing challenges [have] less money available for other projects, so they have to be put on hold. TWD: What is the U.S. regulatory environment like for doing business with the Arab world? Hamod: In terms of most regulations, the Arab world has done a really good job of consulting with the United States on how we do it here. In many instances they have adopted regulations suggested or offered by the U.S. I think there is recognition in the Arab world that says U.S. standards and regulations are some of the most stringent in the world, and there is a keen desire to help standardize some of the processes throughout the Arab world because at the end of the day, that will be better for their economies. TWD: Let’s talk about U.S. exports to Arab countries. What is the state of the U.S.-Arab export market? Hamod: Historically, there have been four main economic drivers for U.S. exports to the Arab world: oil and gas, defense, infrastructure and consumerism — basically U.S. brands. While oil and gas might be suffering right now, the other three drivers are doing very well, particularly infrastructure because of the huge infrastructure build-out we’re

U.S. and Arab ambassadors attend the fourth annual Ambassadors Forum, held March 17, 2016, at the State Department and co-hosted by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.

seeing across the Arab world right now. I’d like to add a fifth: education and training. We are looking at unprecedented levels of interest in the Arab world in U.S. schools, whether that is establishing American schools on the ground across the Arab world [or] partnering with American colleges and universities…. We’re also seeing greater numbers of Arab students coming to the United States, led by Saudi Arabia, which has to the best of my knowledge more than 100,000 students in the U.S. right now. That has implications for the U.S. business community TWD: Tell us about the Professional Development Initiative (PDI), which offers Kuwaiti students on F-1 visas in the United States a chance to work with a U.S. institution before returning home. Hamod: The PDI is administered by three program partners: the Embassy of the State of Kuwait, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences and the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce. It’s a very select group — the crème-de-la-crème of Kuwaiti graduates. It’s enabling these young people to gain experience that will serve them well back home in Kuwait. It’s also giving American companies an opportunity to gain an understanding of these graduates’ capabilities in case they would like to hire them to work for their companies in the region. It’s a great program and I think we’re the only ones doing anything like that. To gain this kind of hands-on knowledge is essential for the Arab world and our chamber is a leader in that trend.

world is hosting signature events that will help to drive tourism, commerce and cultural exchange, such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and Expo 2020, to be held in the UAE. TWD: And what about Arab people coming to the U.S.? Hamod: Things dropped off precipitously after 9/11 and now many years after, in part because of the availability of more airlines, there are more Arab tourists coming to the United States than I can ever remember. They are not only exploring the major cities but some of the smaller cities across the United States. All things being equal, the Arab world looks to the United States as its number-one partner. That includes vacationing in the U.S.,

Hamod: We don’t pick favorites for any office. I think it’s very unhelpful to talk about keeping Muslims out of the United States or driving Muslims out of the United States. Muslims are part of the very fabric of America. They contribute just like people of all other faiths in this country. Careless talk about profiling certain ethnic or religious communities can be very dangerous. In our own case, this year we have had to put some projects on hold because people from the Arab world said we understand the United States does not want Muslims, so we’re going to take our business somewhere else … and that is clearly a step in the wrong direction. It has financial implications but it also has implications for how we’re perceived in the world as an honest broker and as a country that welcomes people of all backgrounds regardless of faith. As someone of Lebanese, Norwegian and Irish descent, that’s part of what makes America great. It’s a country that gives everybody a second chance. WD Michael Coleman (@michaelcoleman) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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TWD: What is the state of tourism — Americans to Arab states and vice versa? Obviously, conflicts would seem to put a damper on tourism going both ways. Hamod: There are now more than 400 nonstop flights per week between the United States and the Arab world. That is a significant change and it is bringing Americans and Arabs in direct contact with each other without having to go through Europe and the rest of the world. There are certain countries in the region that are a big draw — Dubai is doing very well, part of the United Arab Emirates. Tourists are coming from all over the world. Morocco is doing very well. I think other tourist markets are coming back. Egypt, for example, which has historically been an important market, [has] faced some challenges but it’s on the road to recovery. U.S. tourists going to Arab markets are recognizing there are some exotic opportunities, including things like medical tourism and ecotourism. Some of these are the last frontiers in tourism. Also, more than ever before, the Arab

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WD | Diplomacy

New Boss at U.N. Women, Eastern Europeans Among Diplomats Vying for Secretary-General by Larry Luxner

hat do Portugal, Argentina, New Zealand and Costa Rica have in common with eight Eastern European countries — five of which used to form part of Yugoslavia? Not much, really, except that all 12 are fielding candidates to replace United Nations SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon when his term expires on Dec. 31. Unlike the U.S. presidential elections, the process for selecting a U.N. chief has long been shrouded in secrecy. That’s starting to change, however, and in mid-July, 10 of the 12 candidates participated in a first-ever televised “debate” of sorts hosted jointly by the Al Jazeera TV network and the president of the U.N. General Assembly. Despite hopes that this year would usher in greater transparency, however, the U.N. Security Council continued its opaque selection process with a series of informal straw polls to weed out candidates. The results are kept confidential, though they invariably leak out to the media. In an unofficial straw poll held a week after the televised debate, Portuguese diplomat António Guterres — who served as U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015 — came out on top. Next on the list was former Slovenian President Danilo Türk, followed by Bulgaria’s Irina Bokova — the current director-general of UNESCO — and two exforeign ministers from former Yugoslav republics: Serbia’s Vuk Jeremić and Macedonia’s Srgjan Kerim. In a subsequent straw poll, Guterres again got the most “encouragements” (i.e. votes), followed by Jeremić. Third was Argentinean Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, a Turtle Bay veteran who managed peacekeeping operations and the World Food Program and served as Ban’s chief of staff. (Türk dropped to fourth place.) Diplomats will continue to hold straw polls to whittle down the candidates until they reach a consensus. The goal is to recommend a ninth secretarygeneral to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September, with a final winner expected to emerge in October. Djerdj Matkovic, Serbia’s ambassador to the United States, says his country nominated Jeremić for the job “mindful of the principle of geographic distribution for leadership in the U.N. system.” That’s a reference to the informal regional rotation practice under which the next U.N. chief is likely to come from Eastern Europe — a region that has never produced a secretary-general. From 2012 to 2013, Jeremić was president of the UNGA’s 67th session, where he “demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and much-needed activism,” said Matkovic. “He is also the only candidate with a detailed policy platform elaborating on 53 concrete commitments in five main areas — sustainable development; climate change; peacekeeping operations and humanitarian assistance; human rights; and reform of the U.N. Secretariat,” Matkovic said. “As the election process is in full swing, we are encouraged by the fact that after two straw polls, Mr. Jeremić came in second place, the best-ranking candidate from the Eastern European group. That clearly demonstrates wide support and trust within the U.N. Security Council for the candidate of Serbia.” But the Security Council, whose five veto-wielding members have final say in the nomination, is

6 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

Credit: UN Photo / Mark Garten

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will be departing his post Dec. 31 after 10 years, is seen during a Capitol Hill meeting in August with Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

far from united. The contest over who will lead the elect either a woman or an Eastern European to the world body is likely to pit the United States against top U.N. post. Russia in a diplomatic tug of war. Last month, PoWhoever becomes the next secretary-general litico’s Benjamin Oreskes and Nahal Toosi reported will have to face the perennial issue of who has veto that Moscow backs UNESCO Director-General power at the 15-member U.N. Security Council — a Bokova, while Washington is throwing its weight privilege now enjoyed only by the council’s five perbehind Argentina’s Malcorra. manent members: China, France, Russia is said to prefer an EastGreat Britain, Russia and the ern European, in part because it United States. Over time, other has close ties to the region, while countries have protested the inthe U.S. has been quietly pushing herent unfairness of this system, for a woman to become the next with pressure mounting to inU.N. secretary-general. clude emerging powers such as The geopolitical proxy war has Brazil and India, as well as ecoled to concerns that the victor will nomically powerful nations like wind up representing the “lowest Germany and Japan. common denominator” — a pliThe next person to take up able, safe pick, much like Ban was residence on the 38th floor of the a decade ago. U.N. headquarters as secretaryBan himself has joined a chogeneral will oversee a staff of rus of nations advocating for a over 40,000 and an annual budwoman to helm the world body, get of $5.4 billion. While it is a which would be a first in its 70powerful position, the U.N. chief year history. All eight of the curis invariably constrained by the rent and former U.N. chiefs have five permanent members of the been men, and a change is long Security Council. overdue, says Maguy Maccario “Changing the composition of Naomi Kikoler Doyle, Monaco’s ambassador to the U.N. Security Council is just deputy director of the Center for the the United States. about as difficult as changing the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. “I think the qualities women U.S. Constitution,” said former Holocaust Memorial Museum have are the qualities leaders need New Zealand Prime Minister today,” said Maccario, who was Helen Clark. “I think it’s critical her country’s first consul-general that the Security Council reflects in New York at a time when the wealthy European the world as it is today, rather than as it was in 1945. microstate lacked its own embassy in Washington. This really is a pressing issue, and I encourage diplo“It’s important to have someone who’s going to do mats to address it.” the best job, and women have the leadership skills Clark — one of six female candidates for the job, necessary, because we’re more likely to find solutions who had a disappointing showing in the initial straw and try to understand everyone’s points of view.” polls — spoke July 13 at the Center for International The surprisingly strong support that Portugal’s and Strategic Studies. In introducing her, CSIS PresGuterres has enjoyed, however, may derail calls to ident John Hamre noted that ever since 1945, the

“

It’s almost like member states have [previously] agreed to the lowest common denominator. At this moment, what we need is someone who’s going to be a real leader.

”

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The five veto-wielding members of the U.N. Secretary-General, seen here debating peacebuilding in Africa in July, will have final say over the next U.N. secretary-general, who is expected to emerge in September or October.

United States has championed the U.N. as central to its interests. “But recently, we’ve become a bit disenchanted as a nation, and I think that’s a mistake,” he said. “What distinguished the first and second half of the 20th century was that we had a set of international institutions to deal with transnational problems that we could not resolve ourselves. Americans have forgotten this, and it’s a part of our obligation to bring back this consciousness of the very important role the U.N. plays to make it a safer and better world. That’s really what’s at stake now when we look at the next leader of the U.N.” Clark, who has headed the U.N. Development Program since 2009, conceded that the 193-member world body “must step up its performance.” “I worry for its future,” she said. “There is a real risk it could drift to the periphery at a very time when we the people need to have confidence in the U.N.’s capacity to resolve the world’s many problems and not be a bystander. It needs someone of global standing. The secretary-general must also understand and have empathy for the world’s many small states which look to the U.N. to protect their rights and interests — and that comes rather naturally to me.” Recalling her work in development issues — including those relating to climate change — Clark said: “I don’t think any other candidate could match the engagement I’ve had in Africa, which constitutes about half the Security Council’s business.” If chosen for the job, which she called “an enormous soft-power position,” Clark said her top two priorities would be strengthening the U.N.’s peacekeeping role around the world and seeing the secretary-general’s office take the lead on development and environmental issues. Clark said she would absolutely not tolerate sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers — a reference to recurring scandals that have plagued the “blue helmets” in conflict zones ranging from Haiti to the Congo. She added, however, that “peacekeepers need to be supported in the field” with both financial and strategic resources. Haiti, in fact, became a focus of Al Jazeera’s televised debate when moderator James Bays asked five of the candidates if the United Nations should apologize to the Haitian people for introducing a deadly strain of cholera that has so far killed 10,000 people (though some estimates put the deaths at 30,000) and sickened hundreds of thousands more. Of the five, only Costa Rica’s Christiana Figueres raised her hand. A seasoned diplomat with 35 years of experience, Figueres, 60, is no stranger to world politics. Her father, José Figueres Ferrer, was president of Costa Rica three times. “Christiana is a very dynamic woman. Anyone who meets her in person can tell you that,” said Román Macaya Hayes, Costa

Rica’s ambassador in Washington. “She led a very successful process in the climate change negotiations, moving from essentially a failed Copenhagen meeting to a successful Paris meeting in six years. Coordinating a large number of countries, sometimes with conflicting interests in a complex multilateral setting, to reach an agreement, is a skill set she can apply to anything — security matters, humanitarian missions, immigration and refugee issues — where any one initiative at the U.N. might meet with opposition from different member states.” Yet Figueres’s chances of leading the U.N. seem relatively slim at this point (she has been in the bottom rung of both polls; another woman, former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, withdrew her candidacy as of press time). “It’s such a fluctuating process,” Macaya pointed out. “One veto can essentially kick someone out, and then someone else might become the favorite. It’s an open process. She’s in the game, and she’s competing.” Regardless of who wins, the next U.N. chief must make stopping mass atrocities and genocide a priority, says Naomi Kikoler, deputy director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at Washington’s U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. She said Ban Ki-moon’s tenure as U.N. secretary-general “will always be marred by the fact that the Sri Lankan crisis unfolded” on his watch — a reference to the mass atrocities committed in 2009, during the final stages of a 30-year civil war between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels. “Kofi Annan had to deal with the horrors of Rwanda and Srebrenica. We can’t have more Rwandas and Srebrenicas,” she said. “The next secretary-general has to recognize that the credibility of their institution is predicated on the ability to prevent crimes from happening before they unfold.” Kikoler, who also praised Ban for launching an initiative known as Human Rights Up Front, urged his replacement to “make a very symbolic step” in the first 100 days by personally meeting with Syrian refugees on the Turkish or Jordanian border — and by fearlessly condemning human rights atrocities committed by Syria’s Assad regime. “The next secretary-general should be a voice for the voiceless, for people who are unable to protect themselves,” she told The Diplomat. “Many of these candidates know intimately what it means to have mass atrocities unfold on their own borders. I hope that means they will be champions for human rights. It’s almost like member states have [previously] agreed to the lowest common denominator. At this moment, what we need is someone who’s going to be a real leader.” WD Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.

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WD | Africa

Never-Ending Misery South Sudan Envoy Denies Atrocities, Says 2018 Elections Likely Postponed by James Cullum

outh Sudan will likely postpone its 2018 presidential elections because of a recently reignited conflict that threatens to prolong the country’s civil war, according to Garang Diing Akuong, South Sudan’s ambassador to the U.S., in an interview with The Washington Diplomat. Hundreds are dead from heavy fighting over the summer between the government of President Salva Kiir (a Dinka, the largest tribe in the country) and forces loyal to his former vice president, Riek Machar (a Nuer, the second-largest tribe). Kiir fired Machar back in 2013 for allegedly planning a coup and the newest country on earth, which split from Sudan in 2011, plunged into a two-year war that is estimated to have killed over 50,000 and displaced 2 million (also see “South Sudan’s New Ambassador Vows Young Nation Can Overcome Fighting” in the August 2015 issue). The tribal bloodletting has compounded the misery of South Sudan’s 11 million people, a largely Christian and animist population who fought for decades to secede from the Islamic-leaning northern government in Khartoum. After the south formally won its independence from Sudan in 2011 — with significant help from the U.S. — hopes were high that Kiir, a former independence fighter, could turn around the destitute but oilrich nation. The jubilation was quickly cut short, however, when the personal rivalry between Kiir and Machar broke out into violence, exacerbating longstanding ethnic tensions. Under intense international pressure, Machar was reinstated last April after a peace agreement was reached in Ethiopia in August 2015, but he fled the capital city of Juba after fighting erupted in July. The United Nations has condemned both sides for human rights abuses and recently blamed government soldiers for carrying out killings and widespread rapes. The brazen rape and beating of American and Western aid workers by uniformed soldiers during a July 11 rampage — in which a local Nuer journalist was also executed — amplified criticism of Kiir’s administration. Meanwhile, Machar, the former head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), was sacked for failing to return to Juba within the 48-hour notice given by Kiir (he has since fled the country). Machar says his firing is illegal and that the SPLM-IO’s choice to replace him, Gen. Taban Deng Gai, violates the peace agreement. He says he will only return to Juba with a regional security force. Kiir, a once-reliable U.S. ally, has pushed back against attempts to beef up the current U.N. peacekeeping mission, complaining that a regional force would

8 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

Photo: James Cullum

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I don’t think you can hold elections in a place that is not peaceful…. We need to stabilize the country before we have elections. Even the rebels themselves wouldn’t go for elections in a country that is still having insecurity. Garang Diing Akuong ambassador of South Sudan to the United States

undermine the country’s sovereignty. In August, the Security Council nevertheless pressed ahead with a robust resolution to strengthen the U.N. presence in South Sudan, adding 4,000 troops to the 12,000 peacekeepers already there and authorizing the use of lethal force to protect civilians. Kiir’s spokesman said the government will not cooperate with the resolution, which threatens to impose an arms embargo if the president blocks the new deployment. Repeated U.N. Security Council threats to halt the flow of arms to the government have done little to sway Kiir’s intransigence, however, with Washington worrying that it might lose leverage if it withholds weapons from a country already awash in them. As Kiir and Machar continue to trade accusations against one another, the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan has been described as “catastrophic,” with sexual violence, mass killings of civilians, looting, recruitment of child soldiers and food shortages rampant throughout the country. The conflict has postponed the presidential elections, which were supposed to

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be held in 2015, and Kiir’s term was extended two years until 2018. Meanwhile, Kiir’s man in Washington, Garang Diing Akuong, pins the blame for the country’s suffering on the president’s adversary, Machar, and categorically denies that his boss had a hand in this latest bout of violence or that Juba is unsafe — despite widespread reports to the contrary. In fact, he insists that the president took great pains to protect Machar and his fellow Nuer during recent clashes — a claim certain to raise hackles among Machar’s supporters, who say Kiir has relentlessly attacked the opposition since purging his political rivals in 2013. *This interview has been edited for clarity and space and updated via email. The Washington Diplomat: It looks like the peace agreement between President Kiir and Riek Machar has collapsed. Are we back to square one? Ambassador Garang Diing Akuong: I don’t think that the statement is correct. I think that the peace

agreement is still holding, is still in place. Why? Because this peace agreement is between the parties. It’s not between individuals, but between the government and the SPLM-IO…. It’s good to remind that the president pleaded with [Machar] to come back, assured him that his security would be taken care of, gave him 48 hours according to the agreement…. He did not return. He gave him enough time, until more than two weeks had elapsed. So the president met with the SPLM-IO leadership in Juba and nominated Taban Deng Gai to take over as first vice president…. The vacuum that was left by Riek Machar had to be filled, because Riek Machar cannot hold the country as hostage because of his absence. And the leadership of IO stated that this measure was taken temporarily until Riek Machar returns. TWD: Machar says that the Aug. 15, 2015, peace deal means that he can’t be sacked by the president. And knowing Machar, isn’t the 48-hour ultimatum just an invitation to the reengagement of hostilities? Akuong: According to the agreement, in the event that one of the [signatories] is taken from the position by death, infirmity or whatever the reason is, that party has to sit down and nominate a replacement within 48 hours… Riek Machar absented himself for more than two weeks and going by the agreement, his party set and nominated a replacement. And the president has to accept that. For us in the government, we want to continue with the implementation of the peace agreement. What is the alternative if we agree

with Machar that the agreement has collapsed? Then the alternative is right away to go back to the war — something that we don’t like as a government because we are morally responsible for the protection and safety and the development of the country…. So the alternative for Riek Machar is war, but for us we don’t think that war is an alternative.

verified them. We deplore that people have been victimized. We don’t abide by that, but we are open to share information with the U.N. and any other human rights group. TWD: What about the alleged July 11 rape and beatings of Americans?

TWD: The government is not trying to get Riek Machar to come back to the table now that his position is filled? Akuong: It is not for the government to do that, but for the party that he belongs to. And if the party brings him back, then we will accept him. We do not have any choice to choose the leaders of the parties.

Photo: UN / Eric Kanalstein

Peacekeepers and U.N. police officers with the U.N. mission in South Sudan conduct a search for weapons and contraband in a “protection of civilians” site near the Jebel area of Juba.

TWD: So the government is still urging the SPLM-IO to bring Machar back? Akuong: Yes, amnesty is open. The president has offered amnesty, even to Riek Machar…. Indeed, some of his soldiers have benefited from this presidential amnesty and returned to Juba and joined the ranks of the new first vice president’s ranks. But Riek Machar said he will not return to Juba until the protection force is on the ground. TWD: How peaceful is Juba right now? The U.S. has evacuated all non-essential personnel. The U.S. State Department has condemned the outbreak of violence last month, which killed over 300 people. Akuong: Yes, we all agree that during the fight that took place that Juba was not safe. And the U.S. and everybody had the right to [protect] their own citizens. But right now the government is in control of the situation. We saw yesterday the U.S. ambassador meeting with the South Sudanese ministers in Juba. We have seen the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, who went to Juba and to the northern Bahr el

Ghazal region. So the country is safe and very much stable. We have seen that Juba airport is open … so Juba is under control and the president is on top of the issues. TWD: But the U.N. is reporting 120 cases of sexual violence against women by government troops in Juba in the last two weeks, women who have fled to U.N. protection sites. Where is the military leadership here, and how will these atrocities be addressed? Akuong: I don’t think that is the right allegation, that 200 have been raped in one night, or in one day or two days. We have listened to those allegations and they need to be verified and investigated…. If there are human rights violations, we don’t condone that, because these are our people. And we have a moral obligation to protect the dignity of everybody, whether they are a woman or a man, whether they are a Dinka or Nuer or any other ethnic group. So we have listened to these reports and we don’t agree with those reports because we have not

Akuong: The government of South Sudan has taken already steps to investigate all abuses and sexual assault allegations involving its soldiers and those found responsible will be prosecuted in military or civilian courts. The government is ready to listen to complains [sic] about U.S. citizens who alleged to have been raped or beaten if they come out to lodge complains [sic]. But to date, nobody came out so that particular cases could be heard. All these are still reports that have not been verified or investigated. TWD: The U.N. is reporting over 4 million South Sudanese need food, that there is a dire humanitarian crisis. Akuong: If there is a crisis, I don’t think it is all over the country. In many states the humanitarian situation is taken care of by the international community and the government…. The problem now in South Sudan is a logistical problem, because in the rainy season nobody can move food anywhere. It is only maybe in Juba, where there is scarcity of food because the rebels are blocking the roads, the rebels are attacking the commercial convoys. TWD: There is a peace summit in Ethiopia being attended by many African leaders, including Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. Once again, foreign governments are intervening to save South Sudan from itself. Why is President Kiir against a regional security force? Akuong: We are not against a regional security force. We are saying there are already enough forces in South Sudan.

TWD: Yet the Kiir government came out against the recent U.N. resolution to bolster the current peacekeeping operation. Akuong: South Sudan is not against IGAD [the Intergovernmental Authority on Development African trade bloc] or U.N. involvement. President Salva Kiir, in his inaugural address of the new Transitional National Legislature on Aug. 19, said: ‘We welcome assistance, we are attentive to advice, but assistance requires dialogue. It should not turn into an imposition that becomes an intervention, in which our sovereignty is compromised and our ability to govern effectively diminishes rather than increases. More and better could and should be achieved through consultation and dialogue.’ The president also added that, ‘South Sudan has no regional enemies. The U.N. role is no doubt critical and support and friendship of the U.S. is invaluable to us. The U.S. and President Obama stood by us before, during and after independence, and I hope and pray the U.S. remains our ally.’ So we are going to discuss with IGAD and the U.N. to find the best way forward. TWD: There are so many different reports and a lot of finger-pointing. Explain how this latest conflict reignited. Akuong: This conflict, actually it is the faction of Riek Machar that should take the blame. [At a July 7] checkpoint, Riek Machar’s forces killed about five people — four soldiers and one medical doctor who was just passing by. That was in the evening, and in the morning the president called the first vice president and other ministers to meet with him to discuss the security situation. In the meeting in the presidential palace, one of Riek Machar’s boys wrote a statement on Facebook saying that Riek Machar was arrested. It was false. So that went out, and they were sitting in this meeting and we said, ‘This thing is going to ignite a war.’ So See South Sudan • page 44

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WD | Europe

The Next London? Post-Brexit, EU Cities Vie to Become Next Financial Hub by Karin Zeitvogel

ost-Brexit London must be feeling like the unwilling party in a divorce. First, the spouse says he wants out. A day later, he says he may have made a mistake and can we think things through. The third party in the divorce — the lawyer — says there can be no concessions; you can’t live with your wonderful spouse of over 40 years and expect to have the usual access to all the other benefits of a legal union (in the U.K.’s case, access to the European Union common market) while rejecting a key aspect of marriage (free movement of labor). Then, to really rub salt into the wound, you’re both starting to get letters from complete strangers, inviting you to move in with them. London has been a major trade and business hub since the Middle Ages. It’s considered the unofficial financial capital of Europe and the startup capital of the EU. In the days before and immediately following the unexpected vote to leave the bloc, financial bigwigs were threatening to pull thousands of workers out of London and relocate them elsewhere in Europe. Morgan Stanley said it could pull 1,000 employees out. JPMorgan Chase said before the referendum that it could pull four times that number out, but backpedalled within days of the vote to the same number as Morgan Stanley. According to KBW Analysts, Citigroup might pull 2,000 of its 8,000 workers out of the U.K., Bank of America nearly 1,400 of 5,500 and Goldman Sachs 1,600 of 6,400. That makes a total of 7,000 skilled workers potentially being dispatched elsewhere. And that’s just five financial services companies. That is still a tiny percentage of the estimated 2 million people in Britain employed by financial services — which makes up 8 percent of the country’s GDP — as well as related industries such as accounting and consulting. Moreover, London consistently outranks other Western European cities in terms of its appeal for the financial services sector, based on criteria such as the prevalence of English speakers, good schools, a favorable regulatory environment, flexible labor laws, cultural attractions and reliable transportation and infrastructure. Potentially relocating thousands of established financial services professionals would itself be a costly move for many companies, and any significant shifts in banking operations could take years or decades to materialize, depending on the outcome of the Brexit talks.

Time Is Money Still, the early signals from major companies have even well-heeled Londoners worried. Telecoms giant Vodafone — the very company that brought mobile phone calls to the U.K. in January 1985 — has also threatened to move its headquarters out of London following the Brexit vote. Encocam, a British company that makes everything from crash-test dummies to composite panels for trains, has put plans on hold to hire another 120 employees to work at its Cambridgeshire design and production hub, and now says it could take 10 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

Photo: Diego Delso / Own Work / Wikimedia Commons via CC BY-SA 3.0

The Leadenhall skyscraper, dubbed “The Cheesegrater” because of its shape, is one of a number of new tall buildings in London’s booming financial area. Following the Brexit referendum, however, other European cities are looking to take a cut of London’s profitable financial services sector.

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If push comes to shove and businesses feel Brexit will hurt their bottom line, they have a bevy of suitors waiting for them, each offering different bouquets of flowers to sweeten the deal and get them to leave London and move in with them.

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its business elsewhere. Spain, Portugal, Germany and Poland were all mentioned as alternatives in an article by the Reuters news agency about the company. Reuters cited Encocam’s managing director, Mike Ashmead, as saying the company “cannot wait for two years” to see how the negotiations between the U.K. and EU on the conditions of Brexit pan out. His chief worry, the article said, is that new immigration rules could “hinder his ability to hire engineers, designers and other skilled workers from abroad.” In the past, when Encocam has hired an engineer from a non-EU member state (India, in this instance), the negotiations took 18 months, according to the article. The fear is that if the U.K. does leave the EU, it might take that long to get permits for workers from the continent, many of whom, under the EU’s free movement of people

rule, can currently get off a low-cost flight or ferry to the U.K. and walk into a job. That was one of the gripes of the “leave” voters — that workers from newer EU member states like Poland and the Baltic states were snatching all the jobs. Employers like Encocam say the workers they are courting — engineers, architects, etc. — have skills that many Brits are unable to match. Financial services institutions are mulling a move out of London for similar reasons to the Vodafones and Encocams of the world. At present, under a system called “passporting,” companies that are registered in the European Economic Area (EEA) — the 28-member EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — can conduct permitted business in any other EEA state without further authorization, thereby eliminating a lot of red tape. The business just needs to set up a branch or base their agents in another EEA country, or offer cross-border services. Passporting saves companies the money and time it would cost to set up a local entity and obtain a local license to offer their products or services in that EEA country. As with Encocam, the problem with Brexit is that it could take more time to do things that currently happen quickly and fairly seamlessly — and, as the old saying goes, time is money. New British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she would like to keep passporting while limiting immigration to the U.K. But the EU has already hinted, strongly, that the U.K. cannot have its cake and eat it, too. Granting countries access to the EU’s lucrative single market without allowing the free movement of labor would cut at the heart of the bloc’s economic raison d’être. Giving

Britain special treatment would put it in a league of its own among non-EU countries, and that might push other EU members to ditch the union.

Startups Also Wooed As companies look for possible new EU headquarters, they are taking into consideration all the amenities London offers. They have at their fingertips in London a variety of top-class infrastructure, catering and retail opportunities to keep their office managers and staff happy. They have all the sideline financial service industries that they need to do business. Many of the ancillary services are offered by startups, another area in which London is an EU leader. In July, Germany’s Cornelia Yzer, the Berlin senator for economics, technology and research, sent a letter to an unspecified number of U.K.-based businesses warning that the “leave” vote would “severely affect your operations” and subtly urging them to consider moving to another “dynamic economic location, Berlin.” “Berlin is not only the capital of Europe’s strongest national economy but also the fastest growing state in Germany. The startup number-one community is based here,” Yzer’s letter said. She noted that hundreds of startup bosses have responded to her letter and asked for information about relocating to Berlin. We were unable to confirm her claim. But we can confirm that London offers rich pickings for anyone who wants to start a fintech — an amalgam of financial technology — or scale up a newish company that is seeking to expand. Nearly 30 out of the top 50 fintech companies in Europe are based in the U.K., and the vast majority of those — 22 out of 28 — are in London, according to a listing compiled annually by FinTechCity. Eight in 10 of the hottest new fintech companies in the EU are in London, according to the list. The other two are in Berlin. So London is not only a longtime financial center but also the dean of startup cities. The first startup “cluster” is said to have taken root in east London in the late 1990s. But other cities are catching up, and if push comes to shove and businesses feel Brexit will hurt their bottom line, they have a bevy of suitors waiting for them, each offering different bouquets of flowers to sweeten the deal and get them to leave London and move in with them.

Race to Replace London Amsterdam: Apparently, the Dutch city was once the financial capital of the world, but that was back in the 1600s when the Dutch were plying the seas, trading with far-flung countries. Today, Amsterdam is not only an international city, but is also home to many major banks (ING and Rabobank, just to name two) and has a growing fintech culture. In an article published on the Bank Innovation website in January 2015, writer Bernard Lunn said Amsterdam has “the two ‘reagents’ of a thriving innovation center — techies and rich people.” Another plus for the Netherlands is that most people in the country speak excellent English, the language of both techies and many bankers. Its international airport is one of the best in Europe, and Brussels, the EU capital, is a high-speed train ride away. Berlin: The German capital is wooing both established financial services firms and startups. It has a much younger startup culture than London, but in just the space of several years, Berlin’s Gründerszene

(FounderScene) has grown to roughly the same size as London’s. Both cities offer the infrastructure startups look for — shared workspaces, cafés and accelerators where entrepreneurs can learn the ropes of launching a startup. And, as Yzer said in her love letter to London businesspeople, Berlin is very cosmopolitan. In fact, many of the city’s successful startups were set up by immigrants. One of the biggest pluses of Berlin versus London is the un-cramped feel and more relaxed pace of life in the German capital. Dublin: Many international tech companies, including household names like Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter, have made the Irish capital their European home — often to take advantage of the very low corporate tax rate. Enterprise Ireland, the government body in charge of developing Irish enterprises in world markets, notes that Ireland also has little red tape to cut through, a bonus in bureaucratic Europe. The cost of living is lower than in the U.K., English is widely spoken and cultural offerings are arguably on par with London’s, especially the pubs. The government agency in charge of attracting foreign investment, the Industrial Development Agency, says this on its website: “Ireland is a committed member of the European Union and provides companies with guaranteed access to the European market. Ireland is the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone and provides an ideal hub for organisations seeking a European base. The brightest talent from across Europe is attracted here, mixing with our own to offer a multinational and multilingual melting pot of skills with a positive attitude to match.”

tively few French people speak English and the country has very restrictive labor laws along with high taxes and social charges, which is likely to put a lot of companies off.

Photo: Donaldytong / Own work / Wikimedia Commons via CC BY-SA 3.0

Dublin, whose shopping thoroughfare Grafton Street is pictured above, is hoping its cultural attractions, low taxes and tech industries attract London’s financial services professionals.

lot of predictability.” Among the negatives, Luxembourg is very small, raising questions as to whether it could absorb all those tech and finance workers from London. Gramegna also noted that until the U.K. invokes Article 50, which starts the withdrawal process from the EU, it will remain an EU member, with all the responsibilities and rights.

Outside Contenders Copenhagen: The Danish capital is home to more than 12,000 information technology companies, one of the largest concentrations in Europe. But, like the U.K., Denmark is not in the eurozone, which might cause companies to balk at the idea of repeating the same mistake twice. Paris: The Euronext stock exchange is based here, and Paris is a wonderful city, rich in cultural and gastronomic delights. But relaWASHINGTON DC 21x29.7cm ING copy.ai

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Stockholm: The most populous city in the Nordic region, Stockholm has been mentioned as a new tech hub for Europe, with the fact that Minecraft was created there listed as one of the reasons. Many Swedes speak excellent English, and there’s a lot of room for population growth, but the cost of living is very high. Ontario: No, Ontario is not in Europe, and it’s not a city, but the commercial counselor for the government of the Canadian province, Aaron Rosland, has laid out a number of reasons for tech startups to move across the ocean: Ontario has the second-largest tech ecosystem in North America, after California; there are over 20,000 tech companies in Ontario; engineers working at those 20,000 tech companies are “more sought after than Stanford graduates,” according to Rosland; and Canada has direct, easy access to the huge U.S. market. It also has lower taxes for companies than the U.S. Dubai and Doha: Neither the UAE nor Qatar are in Europe, but in an article for eFinancialCareers.com, reporter Paul Clarke quoted an unnamed U.S. banker as saying, “We are not thinking of transferring people from London to Dubai tomorrow, but future growth in Africa could be led out of the Middle East or South Africa.” WD Karin Zeitvogel (@Zeitvogel) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

Frankfurt: A strong contender to become the next financial capital of Europe, Frankfurt is already home to the European Central Bank, Germany’s Bundesbank and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, one of whose tasks is to rebuild trust in the financial system. Frankfurt’s airport is the second biggest in Europe — after London’s Heathrow — and travelers can connect to most European cities by rail from the airport. There’s also room for growth in Frankfurt: The population is only about 2.5 million versus 8.3 million in London. The downside of Frankfurt is that it does not have the same cultural and culinary cachet as many other European cities, and there are some who say that making the city the financial capital of Europe would give too much power to Germany. Luxembourg: The very international Grand Duchy is well situated, near Brussels, and offers many cultural perks, including excellent restaurants. A majority of Luxembourgeois speak English, and many speak more than one language. Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna called Brexit “sad news for Europe” in an interview with Bloomberg. “When you live for more than 40 years together, as was the case for the United Kingdom in the EU, you have a long history together, you have common legislation together and it takes a lot of time to unwind that, in order to make sure you have a new framework that is good for all parties,” he said. However, for companies that feel they really must leave London, Gramegna said Luxembourg is the “obvious choice…. We are in the Eurozone, which is an advantage that we have compared to the U.K. for a long time, and it’s easier to reach out from Luxembourg than from London…. We have a lot of political stability and, hence, a THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016 | 11

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WD | Cover Profile

On the Frontlines overwhelmed Greece Pleads for Help Ahead of U.n. refugee Summit By lArry lUxner

n mid-June, the Greek island of Lesbos hosted U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a firsthand look at what has sadly become the “ground zero” of Europe’s worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. “Today, I met refugees from some of the world’s most troubled places. They have lived through a nightmare, and that nightmare is not over,” said Ban, speaking at the Kara Tepe refugee camp ahead of June 20, World Refugee Day. “But here in Lesbos, they have found relief from war and persecution.” Praising the hospitality that the 90,000 residents of Lesbos have shown 600,000 or so war-weary Syrians, Iraqis and others who have passed through this popular resort island about the size of Frederick County, Md., on their way to the European mainland, the U.N. chief insisted that “detention is not the answer” and demanded that it end immediately. “One of the most beautiful words in the Greek lexicon is philoxenia — friendship toward strangers,” he said. “Let us work together to resettle more people, provide legal pathways and better integrate refugees. I recognize the difficulties. But the world has the wealth, the capacity and the duty to meet this challenge.” Later this month, just how much philoxenia the world has to offer will be put to the test at the U.N. Summit for Refugees and Migrants. Organizers say the unprecedented Sept. 19 event is “a watershed moment to strengthen governance of international migration” and a “unique opportunity for creating a more responsible, predictable system” to deal with what has become the largest movement of people since the Second World War. And the next day — on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly — President Obama will host the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees in an effort to cajole governments around the world to pony up billions of dollars in humanitarian aid, admit more refugees through resettlement programs and provide them with expanded educational and work opportunities. “Because it’s a global issue, we are glad this will be a global conference,” said Haris Lalacos, Greece’s new ambassador to the United States. “It’ll be held at the U.N. at a time when world leaders will be in New York for the annual General Assembly. We expect this conference to raise awareness globally about the extent of this issue, about its roots and about ways to address it in a long-term fashion.” Lalacos, 59, presented his diplomatic credentials to President Obama on June 27. Three weeks later, The Washington Diplomat grilled him for an hour about everything from the refugee crisis to the financial crisis, which one year ago saw Greece teetering dangerously close to expulsion from the 28-member European Union; in fact, Grexit was a word long before Brexit. “We need to stress that this refugee-migrant crisis is a global issue. We do not see it as bilateral or even regional,” he said. “It requires an international approach to a long-term solution, and this has not happened yet.” Far from it, in fact. The crisis has threatened to unravel decades of European solidarity. Over 1 million migrants streamed into Europe by sea last year in a desperate, dangerous journey to escape violence and poverty in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, with thousands dying along the way. The unprecedented surge led to a populist backlash throughout Europe, as far-right parties gained steam in France, Austria, Poland and, notably,

“

PHoTo: lAWrenCe rUGGeri of rUGGeriPHoTo.CoM

We need to stress that this refugee-migrant crisis is a global issue. We do not see it as bilateral or even regional…. It requires an international approach to a long-term solution, and this has not happened yet. HAriS lAlACoS ambassador of Greece to the United States

”

Britain, where voters decided to sever the U.K. from the European Union in part because of concerns over unchecked immigration. Meanwhile, the EU has struggled to spread the immigration burden among member states. Countries such Germany and Sweden have taken in a disproportionate share of refugees, while others such as Hungary threw up fences, fearing that an influx of Muslims would contribute to radicalism and job losses at home. As even once-hospitable nations closed their doors, tens of thousands of refugees were left stranded in Greece, which has found itself on the frontlines of an international crisis while still battling its own domestic economic crisis (also see related story on refugees in Greece on page 19). Greece — saddled with €320 billion in debt and massive unemployment as a consequence of the eurozone’s 2008 financial meltdown — is now witnessing its largest influx of refugees since the 1920s. More than a million people in search of a safe haven have transited Greece since early 2015. Gateway islands such as Lesbos have

seen tourism plummet, while Greece’s cash-strapped government struggles to process asylum claims, build housing and rescue migrants at sea. Officials in Athens complain that promises of significant EU aid have yet to materialize. A March agreement between Turkey and the EU, however, has dramatically reduced the flow of migrants into Greece. Under that €5 billion deal, for every Syrian refugee smuggled into Greece who is shipped back to Turkey by the EU, the bloc must accept one vetted Syrian refugee from a camp in Turkey. In return, Ankara is supposed to receive billions of dollars in EU assistance and accelerated talks on visa-free travel and EU membership. A previous EU plan to redistribute 160,000 asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy to other member states fell apart following objections from Hungary and other Eastern European countries. As a result of the EU-Turkey pact, migrants shifted their focus and began embarking on the more perilous route from Libya to Italy. Even though crossings via the Aegean Sea have been sharply curtailed, the deal hasn’t resolved the problem of what to do with the people aLSo See: As Greece already stuck in Greece. reels Under economic, The problem has gotten even worse since the refugee Crises, Citizens failed coup attempt against Step Up Page 19 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Greek officials say arrivals have jumped by 76 percent since the military’s July 15 uprising, with the number of stranded asylum-seekers exceeding 50,000 for the first time ever. Erdogan now threatens to pull out of the agreement altogether in the wake of EU criticism over his latest crackdown on dissenters. “Right now, refugees need all the help they can get,” Yanis Papadimitriou reported for Deutsche Welle. See gr eeC e • PAGe 14 THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMbEr 2016 | 13

Greece Continued • page 13

“Disputes have arisen in the overfilled camps, where supplies are short. Recently, refugees caused an uproar in Greece when they vociferously demanded the opening of the borders to let them out.” This heartbreaking issue is nothing new to Lalacos, who dealt with refugees at his last assignment heading the Greek diplomatic mission in Skopje, capital of Macedonia. “It was the first country people would enter after they left Greece, but it also gradually implemented restrictions on the flow of refugees, and the border now covers most accessible places,” said the ambassador, who for political reasons calls his northern neighbor the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). “Even where there is a fence, a small number of people will try to sneak out of Greece — precisely because they want to go to certain northern and western European countries, and they will do anything to get there.” Lalacos spent three and a half years in Skopje before coming to Washington. And before Skopje, he was posted to Ankara as head of the Greek Embassy in Turkey. For a number of years, 50,000 to 70,000 foreigners arrived in Greece annually via Turkey. But last year, total arrivals jumped to nearly a million. “These were unprecedented numbers which no one could have foreseen, even at the beginning of 2015,” said Lalacos, declining to predict how many refugees might wash up on Greek shores this year. “So far, the EU agreement with Turkey is working. What has changed is the inability of these people to exit

Credit: UN Photo / Rick Bajornas

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets with refugees at the Kara Tepe refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos in mid-June, just before World Refugee Day. At right is Ángela María Arbeláez, a Colombian-Greek humanitarian activist and founder of the nonprofit group Angels Relief Team.

Greece, because the northern border has been sealed.” Lalacos said Greece will need €1.8 billion (about $2 billion) this year, but that to date, it has received only €250 million in assistance — which is one reason it’s counting on pledges at the upcoming U.N. refugee summit. “It’s not just a question of money, but also of relocation. The reason these people are stranded in Greece is because a very crucial part of the agreement between the EU and Turkey is not being implemented,” he said. “Namely, EU member states undertook an obligation to receive people, and this is happening very slowly and very painfully.”

Lalacos complained that “Greece has fully honored its EU commitments and has accepted more than the agreed quotas of people. But EU assistance has not been what we expected and what we need,” he said. “Unlike all the other countries to our north, which more or less sealed their land borders like the Balkan countries did, Greece can’t seal off its maritime border with Turkey. When it comes to the sea, you can patrol it and monitor activity, but when you see inflatable boats overcrowded with refugees, including older people, babies and the handicapped, the only thing you can do is rescue them.” Ángela María Arbeláez, a Colombian-Greek

With 19 Participating Embassies!

14 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

humanitarian activist working in the field since September 2015, knows this more than most. Arbeláez, who was among the NGO leaders to greet Ban Ki-moon during his visit to the Kara Tepe refugee camp, says the Greek government has gone above and beyond the call of duty — and that Brussels must now step up to help the helpless. “There is no short-term solution. Europe must open her borders,” she told The Diplomat in an email from Lesbos, urging the EU to recognize not only Syrian refugees but also Afghans and Iraqi Yazidis as displaced persons. “One solution would be more rapid processing of requests for asylum and family reunification so that the more than 57,000 refugees stranded in Greece can travel to their final destinations.” Lalacos agrees that Greece has done more than its fair share, noting that this isn’t the first time his country opened its doors to desperate foreigners. In 1991, after Albania’s communist regime collapsed, some 20,000 Albanians poured across the border in northern Greece. But this is different, he said. “The Albanians who came in the 1990s came because they wanted to live and work in Greece, and eventually they started blending into Greek society, having kids and sending them to Greek schools,” said the envoy. “But these people want only to transit through Greece, and that puts us in a very peculiar situation.” He added: “Compared to other societies in Europe which have been extremely hostile to the notion of receiving even a few hundred migrants, Greeks are very open, despite the difficulties. The local population has made international news time and again, though this has had an adverse impact on tourism.” That in turn has stung locals of popular destinations such Lesbos. Many residents offered refugees food, water and shelter, only to

find their own jobs now in jeopardy as tourists avoid the island — even though most of the greece at a glance refugees have long since departed. Ivan Vejvoda, a Serbian-born Balkan expert Independence Day March 25 (1821) Unemployment 25 percent (Oct. 30, 2015 estimate) with the German Marshall Fund, traveled to Greece this summer and saw firsthand how loPopulation below poverty line 36 percent Location Southern europe, bordering the (2014 estimate) cal officials on the Aegean island of Kos are coAegean Sea, ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey operating with their counterparts in Bodrum Industries Tourism, food and tobacco — a Turkish town across the water — to feed processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products; Capital Athens mining, petroleum and shelter stranded refugees. Population 10.7 million (July 2015 estimate) “There’s a lull now, but everyone knows Ethnic groups Greek 93 percent, other this could be short-lived if the situation in (foreign citizens) 7 percent (2001 census) Aleppo continues the way it does, so everyGDP (purchasing power parity) $286 billion one’s on guard,” he warned, referring to the (2015 estimate) Syrian city besieged by rebel and governmentNOTE: Although every effort is made to assure your National flag ad is free of mistakes in spelling and CreDiT: Un PHoTo / riCK BAJornAS forces. “Greece is still in a deep economic criGDP per-capita (PPP)it$26,400 (2015 estimate) Greece content is ultimately up to theofcustomer to make the final proof. refugees roam the Kara Tepe refugee camp on the sis. They’ve lost 25 percent of their GDP and GDP growth -0.2 percent (2015 estimate) SoUrCe: CiA WorlD fACTBooK island of lesbos. people have had their salaries cut dramatically. Yet there is a culture of hospitality, and I wouldThe first two faxed changes will be made at no cost to the advertiser, subsequent changes cautiously optimistic, though Greece is clearly will be billed at a rate of $75 per faxed alteration. Signed ads are considered approved. say the Greeks are doing their utmost.” worried about the continent’s anemic econoIndeed, the migrant crisis has temporarily already authorized by Brussels. In return, the process of easing capital controls. my as a whole, as well as Britain’s recent decicheck this ad Mark changes your ad. sion to pull out of the EU. “We haveany gradually relaxedtothose controls overshadowed Greece’s other big problem: its TsiprasPlease government has agreed to carefully. continue sick economy. After years of overextending difficult reforms such as spending cuts, higher in our banking system. Hopefully, we are “There are some countries in Europe that moving to a fullneeds return changes to the status quo ante underwent and are still undergoing very difitself on credit subsidized by low EU interest the privatization If the taxes ad isand correct sign and of faxstate to: assets (301)from 949-0065 in a relatively short time,” he said. “For several ficult times with budget deficits. We also see rates, the country went bust in 2009 when the the post office to the power utility. “Austerity is a painful process because it’s years now, Greece is not borrowing new mon- that we are in a continent which has very low magnitude of Greece’s debts and inefficient The Washington Diplomat (301) 933-3552 economy became clear. Despite a series of lasting too long, and because it’s based mostly ey. The agreement that we have is to be able to rates of growth,” he said. “Because of the polirescue packages totaling hundreds of billions on notions of austerity and fiscal responsibil- repay past loans. In fact, we are decreasing the cies being followed, this has given rise to popwithout the counterbalancing element debt, and we have primary budget surpluses ulism, ultra-nationalism and extreme political of dollars, German-imposed austerity has Approved hit ity, but__________________________________________________________ growth,” said Lalacos. “So we feel which fiscally and socially are very tough to behavior in many, if not all, European counGreeks hard. Roughly one out of every four Changes re- of economic ___________________________________________________________ main jobless; social services have been slashed; that Greece has been caught in a vicious cir- deliver — but it’s an agreement we made and tries. This needs to be addressed by statesmen suicides and drug use soared; and standards___________________________________________________________________ of cle, and our main objective is to complement are honoring it.” across the continent.” what we have agreed with the institutions Lalacos added: “We hope to be able to strike living tumbled. As to whether Brexit might eventually lead While EU finance ministers have signifi- with a new element of growth in the overall the right balance between fiscal responsibility to Grexit, the ambassador thinks that scenario cantly eased the terms under which Athens package that is being applied to the Greek and growth. We see this as the only way out of is highly unlikely, at least for now. a very difficult situation.” must repay its loans, Germany has thus far economy.” “There is no marked tendency among Even without this, he said, Greece is slowly Yet he noted sadly that Greece has suffered the Greek population to even entertain the refused to consider an outright haircut on the debt that the International Monetary Fund improving. Overall tourist numbers are up, negative growth for seven years in a row, most thought of leaving the EU,” he told us. “Greek says is unsustainable. Partly because the EU and the jobless rate has actually dropped recently in 2015, when GDP fell by 1.5 per- society is pro-European. Greece wants more, needs Greek help in stemming the refugee —from a staggering 24 percent to a slightly cent. On the other hand, the IMF expects the not less, Europe.” WD tide, however, it has been willing to cut Athens less staggering 23 percent — though it still has economy to edge up by 0.5 percent this year, followed by growth of 1.7 percent in 2017. In Larry Luxner is news editor of The some slack. The eurozone has given the coun- Europe’s highest unemployment rate by far. Lalacos said his government is also in the this respect, Lalacos said he has reason to be Washington Diplomat. try new pledges of debt relief on top of those

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WD | United States

Not in Kansas Anymore Anger, Unease Grip American Heartland as Election Nears by John Shaw

Wheat fields and storms dominate the Kansas landscape.

BILENE, KANSAS — On a sweltering August night in the heart of Kansas, American patriotism, the allure of the Wild West and the nation’s skeptical views about its political leadership were on full display. It was the opening night of the 71st annual Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo in Abilene, Kansas. Several hundred spectators filed into an outdoor arena. Announcer Mike Mathis galloped onto a dirt infield on a large brown horse and was later joined by Gizmo McCracken, a brightly colored clown with whom he would banter throughout the evening about animals, ranching, marriage, the greatness of America and the smallness of its politics. Brooke Wallace, Miss Rodeo from Kansas State University, raced into the arena on her horse, brandishing an American flag and circling the stadium to vigorous applause. A man posing as Wild Bill Hickok entered on a horse, waved to the crowd and later returned on foot to shake hands and pose for photos. Geff Dawson, a cowboy poet, read a sampling of his work. Then the crowd stood, everyone removed their hats and listened to a prayer in which God is asked to protect the United States during a difficult time. Divine guidance is called upon for the nation as it confronts “changes and decisions” in the coming months. The national anthem followed. Then several dozen cowboys and cowgirls, most in their 20s and from Midwestern states, competed in bull riding, saddle bronco riding, barrel racing and other rodeo events. Between contests, the announcer and the clown exchanged stories and quips. When a massive bull immediately tossed a cowboy, the announcer said it must have been a “Hillary bull.” And when the clown tried to explain something complex, counterintuitive and wrong-headed, he likened it to Obamacare. The crowd laughed. But the mood in Abilene and across Kansas is not mirthful this political season. Surliness in the Sunflower State appears to echo the broader national mood. Polls have consistently shown that about twothirds of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. The extent of the American public’s frustration, even fury, at its political leadership has been well chronicled and frequently discussed. But a weeklong research and reporting trip to Kansas confirmed in spades how deep the discontent is in the American heartland. I visited Abilene to do research at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, but I also spent time talking to dozens of residents of this small, central Kansas town of about 7,000. I attended the rodeo, watched the Central Kansas Free Fair parade, had coffee with a dozen farmers at a local service station and met with others in restaurants and grocery stores. Kansas voters are angry at local, state and federal officials and appear deeply unimpressed with either the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, or his Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton. In Kansas’s March 5 presidential caucuses, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders crushed Clinton 67 percent to 32 percent in the Democratic caucus, while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz routed Trump 48 percent to 23 percent in the Republican presidential caucus. “The political situation in this country is a joke,” said Kenny Kohman, a farmer from a small community south of Abilene. “Can you believe the choices we have for president? It’s a matter of choosing between

16 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

Photo: James Watkins - Flickr: Kansas Summer Wheat and Storm Panorama Wikimedia Commons via CC BY 2.0

“

Anger and unrest are definitely in play. I think that anger goes well beyond the heartland, but it is particularly acute here…. The Kansas voter today is a bit of an unguided missile. They’re ready to strike but don’t have a consistent target. Chapman Rackaway

”

political science professor at Fort Hays State University

the lesser of two evils. It’s totally embarrassing.” Adrian Potter owns the Victorian Inn Bed & Breakfast in Abilene and strives mightily to keep the peace at the inn’s breakfast tables and common rooms. “I try to keep the conversation away from politics. I want my house to be a stress-free zone. There is so much anger, even hatred, out there. I don’t need it in my house,” she said. Kansas is a state with about 2.9 million people. Dominated by the farm economy, its population is nearly 80 percent white, 11 percent Hispanic and 9 percent black. Kansas has been a reliably Republican state for decades and this is unlikely to change in November. In the 2012 presidential election, Republican candidate Mitt Romney won Kansas by almost 22 points over President Barack Obama. Four years earlier, the GOP presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, defeated Obama by about 15 points in the state. Kansas has a Republican governor, two Republican U.S. senators and all four of its U.S. House members are Republicans. In Kansas’s legislature, Republicans hold 32 of the 40 seats in the State Senate and 97 of the 125 seats in the Kansas House of Representatives.

But turmoil within Republican ranks in Kansas is roiling the political climate, with much of the discontent fueled by the aggressively conservative economic and social agenda of Gov. Sam Brownback. A former member of the U.S. House and Senate, Brownback was elected governor in 2010 by a huge margin and narrowly re-elected in 2014. Brownback pushed deep tax cuts through the state’s legislative assembly and paid for them through substantial spending cuts that have affected everything from schools to highways. The state’s credit rating has been downgraded several times during Brownback’s tenure. In Kansas’s Aug. 2 primary (which was separate from the March presidential caucuses), nearly two dozen of Brownback’s allies in the state House and Senate were defeated. Analysts viewed this as a desire by Kansas’s GOP voters to return to their tradition of mainstream and Main Street Republicanism rather than Brownback’s self-described “real live experiment” in supply-side economics. Kansas’s August primary grabbed the attention of Washington because Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a threeterm, anti-establishment Republican incumbent from the first congressional district and a prominent member of the House Freedom Caucus, was decisively defeated by Roger Marshall, a doctor supported by agricultural interests and several business groups. In the race, which was largely seen as a proxy battle between hardline conservatives and more traditional Republicans, Marshall vowed to be a pragmatic conservative who would work cooperatively with Republican leaders in Congress. He also promised to tend to the state’s agricultural industry. Huelskamp voted against the House Republican leadership budget in 2012 and as a consequence was removed from the House Budget and Agriculture Committees by then-Speaker John Boehner. Huelskamp’s ousting from the agriculture panel was a key issue in his primary, as was his vote against the 2014 farm bill. Charlie Smith, a minister at the First Presbyterian Church in Salina, which is about 20 miles west of Abilene, said the people of Kansas are frustrated by

gridlock at the national level and the controversial leadership of Brownback at the local level. “Kansas is an incubator that demonstrates to the rest of the country the pitfalls of buying into the ‘let’s elect an outsider and try something completely different’ idea,” he told us. “The backlash from the moderates, who I think are a majority of voters, has only been sparked because the theoretical is now palpably touching their lives, what with the whole mess over school funding.” Burdett Loomis, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, agrees that the political frustration in Kansas is due to failures both in Washington and Topeka, the state capital. “What’s notable in Kansas is that in a GOP primary election, Gov. Brownback and his far-right allies systematically got rolled by more traditional, moderate conservatives,” Loomis said. “The anger was directed largely at the fallout from income tax cuts, which have decimated state revenues and have necessitated cutbacks in education, roads, health care and mental health.” Loomis said he believes the people of Kansas now want problem-solvers in government, not ideologues. “The overall mood is that things just are not working in a state where things have traditionally worked pretty well. It’s very heartening to see Kansas tilt back toward its moderate-conservative roots. But immense damage has been done over the past few years,” he said, citing the sharp decline in the quality of roads and schools in Kansas. Chapman Rackaway, a political science professor at Fort Hays State University, agrees that discontent is alive in Kansas. “Anger and unrest are definitely in play. I think that anger goes well beyond the heartland, but it is

particularly acute here,” he said. “The Kansas voter today is a bit of an unguided missile. They’re ready to strike but don’t have a consistent target. Six years ago, they thought moderates were the scourge of the land and they purged them with ruthless efficiency. Gov. Brownback mistook a successful pair of elections for a mandate, and in 2016 when his over-promised tax policy didn’t bear fruit, voters swung the ideological pendulum back to center. But there’s still anger.” Michael Smith, a political science professor at Emporia State University, said political discontent in Kansas is a potent force, but is nothing new. “This is not the only time the Great Plains have seen anger and unrest. There has been anger and unrest before and now it’s back,” he said. “The overall political mood in Kansas is ‘throw the bums out.’ Obama is unpopular here and Gov. Brownback is even more unpopular. Poll respondents don’t mind same-sex marriage or transgender bathroom use so much, but they get angry at the thought of the Feds telling us what to do. The recent primaries were a backlash against cuts to public school funding and tax cuts that didn’t deliver promised growth,” he explained. Smith predicted that boiling anger will hurt both Clinton and Trump in November. “Hillary and Trump are both unpopular. Kansas was one of Ross Perot’s best states. He got 20 percent here in 1992. There could be a similar result for Gary Johnson,” he said, referring to the Libertarian Party presidential candidate. As unrest and discontent surge across Kansas, the Eisenhower Presidential Library seems a bastion of calm, order and nostalgia. The complex is nestled on a campus with large green lawns that resemble a small liberal arts college. Visitors stroll through Eisenhower’s former home, a museum, library and a “place of medi-

tation” where Eisenhower, his wife Mamie and an infant son are buried. An 11-foot bronze statue of a proud but modest Gen. Eisenhower dominates the center of the campus. On the second floor of the library, about 10 researchers from the U.S., the United Kingdom, Turkey, China and Japan sit at wooden tables and pour over the records of the Eisenhower presidency. Eisenhower governed during a difficult phase of the Cold War, from 1953 to 1961, as the U.S. battled the Soviet Union for global supremacy and competed for influence in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Documents from that time illustrate the daunting foreign policy challenges Eisenhower faced while also confronting serious domestic apprehension that led to the socalled “Red Scare” and McCarthyism. Nonetheless, Eisenhower’s world sometimes feels more comprehensible than the current one.

“I can’t quite believe I’m saying this, but the 1950s seems like a much saner place than today,” quipped David Mayers, a visiting history professor from Boston University. In the gift shop, tourists purchase souvenirs, many of which display the “I Like Ike” theme that Eisenhower used when he first ran for president in 1952 and also embraced when he won re-election in 1956. During these campaigns, Eisenhower had occasional biting exchanges with his Democratic predecessor, Harry Truman. At the front of the store, there is a blue bumper sticker that seems to reflect disappointment in the current political scene and longing for a more understandable past. It reads: “I MISS IKE! HELL, I EVEN MISS HARRY.” WD John Shaw is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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WD | Energy

Costly Support The Burning Debate Over Fossil Fuel Subsidies by Brendan L. Smith Oil derricks rise from Venezuela’s petroleum-rich Lake Maracaibo.

or the past seven years, the world’s economic powerhouses have repeatedly promised but failed to deliver a deadline to eliminate the staggering costs of fossil fuel subsidies that increase carbon emissions and the potentially devastating effects of climate change. G20 governments have paid $444 billion a year for oil, natural gas and coal subsidies, including $20 billion by the United States, according to a report by the Overseas Development Institute and Oil Change International. Worldwide, fossil fuel subsidies totaled $550 billion in 2013, more than four times the amount of subsidies for renewable energy, the International Energy Agency reported. Despite the enormous expense, the international community is deeply divided over the proposed benefits and environmental consequences of fossil fuel subsidies, with some countries, including the United States and United Kingdom, taking conflicting positions on both sides of the issue. Critics of fossil fuel subsidies argue that they not only contribute to pollution and climate change — thereby costing governments even more money in the long run — they also drain budgets and divert funds from other spending priorities, such as health care and education. “Fuel subsidies impose a particularly significant fiscal toll on developing countries,” wrote Isobel Coleman of the Council on Foreign Relations in a 2014 report. “Fuel subsidies are particularly burdensome in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which accounts for half of all fuel subsidy spending. Yemen, for example, spends 6 percent of its GDP on fuel subsidies, more than its budget for much-needed infrastructure and social spending. Egypt spends over 10 percent of its GDP on fossil fuel subsidies, contributing significantly to the country’s budget problems.” Yet many of those same MENA governments say reducing subsidies, and thereby hiking energy costs for consumers, could spark a popular revolt, especially in oil-rich nations where cheap gas and electricity are considered part of the social contract. And while wealthier nations such as the U.S. have been weaning themselves off of fossil fuels in favor of cleaner energy, the economies of many developing countries from Brazil to India continue to be powered by coal, oil and natural gas. Even developed nations such as Japan have struggled to rein in credits and tax breaks to energy companies that offer cheaper alternatives to renewables. At their summit this past June in China, the G20 leaders couldn’t agree on a deadline for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, even though they have pledged to do so since 2009. Those subsidies are opposed by President Barack Obama, the United Nations, European Union and hundreds of nongovernmental organizations and environmental groups. However, there was some progress when the G7 nations (including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as the European Union) met in May and agreed for the first time to end most “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies by

18 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

Photo: Larry Luxner

“

Even though the price and cost of renewable energy is going down, that progress is being undermined by the huge amount going to fossil fuel subsidies. Alex Doukas

”

senior campaigner for Oil Change International

2025. But while making that promise, the United Kingdom is the only G7 country that has recently increased its fossil fuel subsidies while also cutting investments in renewable energy. New tax breaks approved last year for North Sea oil and gas production will increase profits for energy companies, including many that are foreignowned, while costing the British government more than 1 billion pounds over the next five years. The subsidies will encourage the use of fossil fuels despite their impact on climate change, with the British government estimating that oil and gas will continue to meet 70 percent of the United Kingdom’s energy needs until 2030. With approximately 200 companies already operating in the North Sea and oil reserves running low, some environmental groups questioned the need to stimulate production there at a large expense to taxpayers. Unlike the G20, the G7 doesn’t include Saudi Arabia, Russia and China, which have all opposed the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies for various reasons, said Varun Sivaram, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The royal Sau-

di government is inextricably linked with stateowned Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest energy company. Russia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, has been hammered by falling oil prices with half of its federal budget dependent on oil and gas industry revenue. “It’s difficult to imagine a world where Saudi Arabia will remove its subsidies, as well as Russia,” Sivaram said. However, Saudi Arabia can’t withstand the financial fallout from plummeting oil prices unscathed. Faced with a rising deficit, Saudi Arabia has slashed domestic spending and scaled back some consumer-based fossil fuel subsidies that artificially lowered the price of fuel for its citizens. Saudi Arabia increased its in-country gasoline prices by 50 percent last year, while Bahrain raised gas prices for its residents by 56 percent and Qatar by 30 percent, although their subsidized rates are still well below market levels. The reforms could reduce wasteful gas use by consumers in the Middle East, where oil consumption has grown almost four times faster than the worldwide average, in part because subsidized gas is so cheap. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal and the elimination of subsidies there would raise internal energy security concerns, but China’s extreme air pollution is accelerating momentum to reduce fossil fuel subsidies or at least talk about it, Sivaram said. The groundbreaking climate change accord signed by nearly 200 countries in Paris last year set a goal of limiting increases in global temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and committing $100 billion a year by 2020 for climate change initiatives. But the accord didn’t address fossil fuel subsidies because they are a divisive political issue, said Alex Doukas, a senior campaigner with Oil Change International, a nonSee subsidies • page 45

WD | Europe

Modern-Day Odyssey As Greece Reels Under Economic, Refugee Crises, Citizens Step Up by Karin Zeitvogel

t the start of the tourist season this summer, the top results for a Google search that combined the words “Greece,” “refugees” and “islands” were articles in the British press about which parts of the country are most affected by the ongoing refugee crisis. More than a million refugees streamed into Europe in 2015, the vast majority of them — 885,000 — via Greece’s Dodecanese islands near Turkey, or what the European Union’s external border agency, Frontex, calls the Eastern Mediterranean route. Lesbos (also called Lesvos), Samos and Chios have seen the largest number of arrivals since the beginning of 2015, and around 8,000 more refugees have passed through smaller islands further south, including Leros, Kos and Symi. Temporary holding centers managed by the Greek government have been set up on the islands to process the refugees, but the centers are understaffed and the camps and housing are often squalid. As refugees wait for months to be processed — a first step before they can be resettled elsewhere in Europe — tensions have built up and, in some cases, tipped into violent confrontations, putting refugees, locals and aid workers in danger. Pledges from other EU member states to take in some of the 57,000 persons stranded in Greece have fallen far short of what’s needed to ease the burden. The total number of pledges so far would allow just 11 percent of the target of 66,400 refugees and asylum-seekers to be relocated by September 2017. France (2,570), Romania (772) and Portugal (730) are the top EU member states in terms of relocation pledges. And the migrants keep coming. What the EU calls “disorganized, chaotic, irregular and dangerous migratory flows” to Greece were supposed to be eliminated by a deal struck earlier this year with Turkey, and for a while, the number of arrivals was down. But the dangerous crossings of the Aegean have ticked up again, following the failed coup bid in Turkey. In the margin of its weekly report, the UNHCR keeps a running tally of arrivals in the EU by sea — nearly 263,000 so far this year, mostly to Greece (162,000) and Italy (101,500) — with over 3,100 dying at sea. It used to be that under EU rules, refugees arriving in Europe would have to apply for asylum in the member state they first entered. That put undue strain on countries to the south, such as Greece and Italy, and east, such as Poland, which in the early 2000s, took in thousands of refugees from Chechnya. The EU’s Dublin Regulation, which establishes this rule, was revised in 2013 to add new criteria for evaluating whether someone will be granted asylum — and where they can file their application. But many governments within the bloc have balked at the idea of becoming home to hundreds or thousands of refugees, leaving frontline countries like Greece to shoulder the burden of this massive influx of humanity to its shores (also see cover profile on page 13).

Besieged by Crisis All of this is happening as Greece tries — not very successfully — to pull itself back from the brink of economic collapse. After seven years of austerity measures and several multi-billion-euro bailouts, one in four Greeks under the age of 25 is neither working nor in higher education, and nearly half of Greeks aged 25 and under are unemployed, according to Greek and EU

A refugee sits on the port of Piraeus looking at a ferry that takes tourists to the islands. Even though the Greek authorities tried to move them into official camps, 1,500 refugees were still camped in the port during Ramadan in June of this year.

“

Photo: Karin Zeitvogel

It’s hard for Greeks. They’re having a hard time with their economy and not getting what they need, but the refugees are the focus of everyone’s attention…. And yet, you don’t get a lot of complaining from Greeks. Norman Hering Irish-American volunteer at the Skaramangas refugee camp in Athens

”

statistics. The overall unemployment rate — around 23 percent — is the highest in the European Union and nearly equal to the jobless rate in the United States when the Great Depression was at its peak. Once-generous pensions have been slashed along with wages, while taxes and social charges have risen. Small business owners are going off-grid to stay afloat, operating out of apartments, working for cash only and not paying taxes, perpetuating a vicious cycle of tax evasion for which the country is notorious. Tens of thousands of Greeks are homeless. In the Thissio neighborhood of Athens — at the foot of the Acropolis, amid a plethora of restaurants and nightlife — an elderly man who sold antique coins from a foldup card table in a street market by day simply covered up his wares at night with a plastic sheet and slept in the chair he’d sat in all day. Much like the refugees who have been stuck in Greece since the Balkan states slammed their borders shut, many Greeks have nowhere to go but the dusty streets of Athens or Thessaloniki. They also have little hope that things will get better any time soon. “It’s hard for Greeks. They’re having a hard time with their economy and not getting what they need, but

the refugees are the focus of everyone’s attention,” said Norman Hering, an Irish-American psychologist who, around 18 months ago, sold his house in California and moved to Europe, where he eventually ending up volunteering at the Skaramangas refugee camp in Athens. “And yet, you don’t get a lot of complaining from Greeks,” he added. A German volunteer working in the port of Piraeus near Athens said Greeks “see so many organizations bringing money and help for the refugees, but they’re suffering, too.” “We need to mobilize for the Greeks, too. They shouldn’t feel like second-class citizens in their own country,” said the volunteer, who did not give his name. To some Greeks, and even to an outsider not looking far below the surface, the refugees appear to have it good. Many are housed in camps or prefabs provided by the government. The Greek Army provides them with meals. They get free medical treatment. But scratch the surface a little and the story changes. The official government-run refugee camps are massively overcrowded, and living conditions in them are appalling. There have been reports of refugee children being sexually assaulted inside a camp near Thessaloniki. Tensions are seething. And there are unconfirmed reports of scurvy in the unofficial refugee camp set up in Piraeus, caused by a lack of vitamin C because of the poor quality of the meals provided by the Greek Army.

Arrivals Flood Port City Last winter, 7,000 refugees were camping in Piraeus, the port from which, during the summer, ferries carry happy tourists off to idyllic island holidays. The numbers of refugees were swelling daily — “500 and 500 and 500 more,” said Krista Vitsoroglou, a former dentist who owns and runs the popular Rakadiko Stoa Kouvelou restaurant, tucked away on a nondescript street a stone’s throw from the port. The military and faith-based groups were trying to See refugees • page 44 THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016 | 19

WD | Medical

The Downsides of Less Early Prostate Cancer Diagnoses Continue to Fall in U.S. by Steven Reinberg

Decline follows recommendation against routine screening, but experts not sure if trend is good or bad

iagnoses of early prostate cancer continue to decline in the United States, following the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against routine screening for the disease, researchers report. The screening involves a blood test that identifies levels of PSA (prostate-specific antigen), a protein produced by the prostate gland. That test can determine when cancer exists, but it often wrongly identifies nonexistent cancer. These “false positive” results can cause anxiety and lead to unnecessary follow-up tests. Because of this, the task force issued a draft recommendation against routine screening in 2011 and a final guideline in 2012. Since then, diagnoses of early prostate cancer in American men ages 50 and older dropped by 19 percent between 2011 and 2012 and by another 6 percent the following year, said lead researcher Dr. Ahmedin Jemal. He is vice president of the American Cancer Society’s surveillance and health services research program. But while many men may have been spared unnecessary anguish, less frequent screening may have a downside. Some experts worry more men will develop potentially fatal prostate cancer as a result. “Prostate cancer is a slow-growing tumor, so it takes time. We may see it over the next three to five years,” Jemal said. There is a balance in the task force recommendation, said Dr. Anthony D’Amico, chief of genitourinary radiation oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “Some men who should not be treated are not being diagnosed, but that also means some men who should be treated are either losing the chance for cure or presenting later and needing to undergo more treatment and more side effects for a possible cure,” he said. “The answer to this dilemma will come with personalized medicine based on risk-based screening — screening men preferentially in good health and at high risk,” D’Amico added. The decrease in diagnoses of early-stage prostate cancer may be partly due to a misreading of the task force’s recommendation, added Dr. Otis Brawley, the cancer society’s chief medical officer. “I believe the task force guideline is being misunderstood,” he said. “The key word that is missed is ‘routine’ — the task force does not recommend routine screening. This in my mind means they are not against all screening. Also, they do call for informed decision-making regarding potential risks and potential benefits,” Brawley said. Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database, Jemal and colleagues looked at cases of prostate cancer diagnosed between 2005 and 2013 in men ages 50 and older. They found that from 2012 to 2013, early prostate cancer diagnosis rates per 100,000 men dropped from 356.5 to 335 in men ages 50 to 74. In men older than that, early cancer diagnoses fell from 379 to almost 354 per 100,000 men. Meanwhile, cases of advanced prostate cancer re-

20 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

Photo: lev dolgachov / Deposit photos

“

My opinion is that we are probably heading for more high-risk and metastatic [cancer that has spread] disease in the next year or two, followed by more deaths from prostate cancer if the decline in screening is maintained. Dr. Anthony D’Amico chief of genitourinary radiation oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

”

mained stable in both age groups. The findings leave some room for interpretation. Other factors leading to the decline could include improved preventive measures and changes in the incidence of unknown risk factors, Jemal said. But D’Amico believes fewer screenings explain the statistics. The drop in the diagnosis of early prostate cancer “is consistent with the drop in PSA screening,” he said. The main issue is whether this is an early sign that more high-risk disease has spread and whether more deaths from prostate cancer will happen, he added. “My opinion is that we are probably heading for more high-risk and metastatic [cancer that has spread] disease in the next year or two, followed by more deaths from prostate cancer if the decline in screening is maintained,” D’Amico said. He added that the only hope for a boost in screening

LEARN MORE: For more information, visit the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/. lies with the results of a British trial. If those findings, expected next year, show a benefit for PSA testing, perhaps testing rates will rebound, D’Amico said. The latest study was published online Aug. 18 in the journal JAMA Oncology. The American Cancer Society recommends that men “make an informed decision with their health care provider about whether to be screened for prostate cancer.” The decision should be made “after getting information about the uncertainties, risks and potential benefits of prostate cancer screening.” The discussion about screening should take place at: • Age 50 for men at average risk of prostate cancer who are expected to live at least 10 more years. • Age 45 for men at high risk of developing prostate cancer. This includes blacks and men who have a first-degree relative (father, brother or son) diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age (younger than 65). • Age 40 for men at even higher risk (those with more than one first-degree relative who had prostate cancer at an early age). After these discussions, men who still want to be screened should get the PSA blood test. The digital rectal exam may also be used as a part of the screening, the cancer society says. WD Steven Reinberg is a HealthDay reporter. Copyright © 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Education A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

•

September 2016

A Nation’s Loss Minority Students Underrepresented in Gifted Programs Across U.S. •

by Carolyn Cosmos

ecades of research have documented a pervasive problem in American public schools and tried to offer a variety of solutions — to little effect: The general neglect of gifted students coupled with a persistent underrepresentation of low-income and minority kids in gifted and talented programs nationwide.

Many people assume that smarter kids naturally get ahead in school, but they face their own unique set of obstacles. For one thing, certain behaviors can be misinterpreted. Social skills may lag behind academic ones. The assumption that bright students will automatically succeed without additional resources can also hold back high-achieving children, whose particular talents often need to be nurtured just like any other special needs. Even identifying the parameters of what it means to be “gifted and talented” — high IQ, above-average reading scores, creative aptitude, motivation, potential etc. — is fraught with difficulty. Many of those challenges are compounded by ethnic and racial disparities, a timely issue given the bitter racial discord in this U.S. election year and debates about elitism and the 1 percenters. Studies have consistently shown that black and Latino students are far less likely than their white or Asian peers to participate in gifted and talented programs, often mirroring the gap in test scores among the four groups. But a study by Vanderbilt University published earlier this year found a stark difference even among white and black students with similar test scores: When scholars surveyed 10,000 U.S. elementary children with the same math and reading scores, they found that a high-scoring white student was twice likely as a highscoring black student to get assigned to a gifted and talented program (interestingly, the gap between Hispanic and white students virtually disappeared). “We document that even among students with high standardized test scores, black students are less likely to be assigned to gifted services in both math and reading, a pattern that persists when controlling for other background factors, such as health and socioeconomic status, and characteristics of classrooms and schools,” wrote researchers Jason A. Grissom and Christopher Redding. A January 2016 article in U.S. News & World Report noted that the Vanderbilt study did uncover one factor that seemed to level the playing field: When high-achieving black children were taught by a black teacher, they were just as likely as similar high-achieving white children to be assigned to a gifted program. Similarly, a 2016 Atlantic piece on the study titled “Why Are There So Few Black Children in Gifted Programs?” pointed to possible racial bias, conscious and unconscious, in teacher referrals as one possible explanation. The Vanderbilt scholars, however, were careful not to draw conclusions about cause and effect or labeling non-black teachers as biased. In many school districts, for example, tests not teachers determine gifted eligibility. Theories behind this black-white divide include varying perceptions of behavior (one student may be labeled a problem child, See gifted • page 22

Eighth-grader Ana Pena works on trigonometric ratios with teacher Dorothy Yilmaz-Thornton in geometry class at the Paterson Academy for the Gifted and Talented in New Jersey. Photo: Paterson Academy for the Gifted and Talented

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016 | 21

Gifted Continued • page 21

while the other precocious), parental involvement or the possibility that black students may be more motivated by black teachers. An earlier working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that when teacher referrals in one school district were replaced by universal screenings that took income and language skill into account, the participation of black, Hispanic and poor students in gifted programs surged. The screenings proved to costly to maintain, however, and when they were curtailed, rates dipped back down.

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‘Tired of Excuses’ “I’m tired of the excuses,” Kate Bachtel, board president of SENG, told The Diplomat. “After years of research into these disparities and all the complaints, we are still doing too little to identify and serve poor and minority students.” SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) is a national nonprofit formed in 1981 that serves gifted and talented students. Bachtel listed some of the “many factors” contributing to the neglect of gifted programs in general and of minority disenfranchisement in particular. One is a lack of understanding of gifted characteristics she sees among teachers and school administrators as well as the general public. “Many teachers are not given even basic training in the ways giftedness manifests itself in different contexts and cultures,” she said. Importantly, high academic achievement does not automatically mean a student is gifted. In fact, some 20 percent of high school

dropouts in the U.S. fall into the gifted category. “If you see a child who is too intense, too sensitive, asks too many questions, moves too quickly or strikes you as ‘too much,’ pay attention — they may be gifted,” Bachtel advised. “Gifted students tend to search for meaning. Look for the poets and dreamers. And empathy for others is often a powerful indictor of a gifted child.” She added: “They may be high energy, with a great need for movement and less need for sleep. And they are usually their own worst critics — perfectionists — which can lead to underachievement.” Among poor and minority children these characteristics may be more easily labeled as disruptive behavior rather than signs of potential, she pointed out. Other factors in the gifted “disenfranchisement,” according to Bachtel, include the failure of too many school systems to use multipronged approaches to identify such students. Simply defining the term “gifted and talented” is problematic. An early definition judged students whose mental capacities developed ahead of their chronological ages. But as NPR’s Anya Kamenetz pointed out in a September 2015 article, “there are problems with this framework. No 6-year-old is truly mentally identical to a 12-year-old. He or she may be brilliant at mathematics but lack background knowledge or impulse control,” she wrote. “In addition, IQ tests become less useful as children get older because there is less ‘headroom’ on the test, especially for those who are already high scorers.” Criteria vary widely across states and school districts — as do attempts to find gifted students. Even among states that actively devote resources to identifying these students, follow-up resources are often scarce. According to the U.S. News & World Report article, 35 states do identify gifted students but don’t

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After years of research into these disparities and all the complaints, we are still doing too little to identify and serve poor and minority students. Kate Bachtel board president of SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted)

require schools to assist them if they need help — and 15 states don’t track them at all. Bachtel said “there are not the same legislative protections for this population” as there are for other children with special needs. And they do need help, she emphasized, including social and emotional support as well as advanced academics. “Data show that two-thirds are bullied at school, double the average rates.” She noted that long-term exposure to bullying, poverty or crisis conditions can result in trauma and “extreme behaviors that mask giftedness.” Money is another perennial problem. A survey conducted by the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Virginia found there is almost no federal funding devoted to gifted and talented students; they receive $0.03 for every $31 in federal funds spent on children with disabilities. Varying by school level, 40 to 60 percent of gifted programs surveyed had no state funding whatsoever. The survey also found that 84 percent of school districts nationwide dramatically under-enrolled poor students in gifted programs and fewer than half enrolled black and Hispanic students at levels that matched local demographics — meaning that disproportionate numbers of slots were typically taken by more affluent students who were white and, to a certain extent, Asian.

Model of Diversity One school in particular, however, the Paterson Academy for the Gifted and Talented in

”

New Jersey — a magnet school that draws students from all over its diverse district — seems to have found a formula that works. A public school that started with 125 students in 2012, it enrolled 220 students in grades two through eight this past academic year. Eighty percent of Paterson Academy students come from low-income households. Its enrollment is 53 percent Hispanic, 20 percent black, 6 percent white and 21 percent Southeast Pacific/Bengali, according to Rita Routé, Paterson’s district supervisor of gifted and talented education. “We have African American students sitting next to students whose families are from Bengal, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic as well as Jordan or Syria. It’s a plus,” she observed. Bachtel of SENG praised the school, noting a national tendency for gifted programs to overenroll affluent white students even in diverse districts. “I’m particularly impressed that this school’s enrollment mirrors its district population. That’s truly exceptional,” she said. The students themselves are exceptional. The academy had three of them among the top 500 achievers at MathCON, a national online math competition for grades five to 12. The contest had 45,000 competitors from 42 states this past school year. Paterson Academy students are getting into programs run by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, Routé told The Diplomat, and they’re also taking part in the state of Maryland’s annual SciSee gifted • page 25

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Gifted I am living the big and small moments of my life with courage and compassion.

Continued • page 23

ence Olympiad. “It’s harder here,” said seventh-grade student Tawhid Ahmed, 13, in a phone interview last spring, “but I like that. In my old school I was the smartest. I felt bored. But here I can learn from other students. If I’m having a hard time with a subject, the teachers will take the time to take me through it step by step. And my parents like the teachers because they’re really nice.” Ahmed said he is “very” interested in math and science and likes to write. He particularly enjoys independent projects and recently completed one on assassinated leaders throughout history, creating a series of pamphlets on the topic. Traditional academics are only the beginning of what students learn at Paterson. All participate in “Accountable Talk,” studentcentered discussions based on respectful interactions and rigorous thinking. At “Morning Meeting,” they encounter a range of enrichment topics, from cancer research to underachievement. And at teacher-facilitated “Club Time,” they can informally bond over a variety of interests geared to the gifted. During month-long celebrations of countries and cultures, students undertake both independent and group projects. Each classroom represents a different nation, and students use “passports” to go from one to the other to complete academic activities or scavenger hunts. School-wide assemblies offer major productions such as a student-choreographed tango performance or food tasting. Eighth-grader Ana Pena, 14, enjoys social studies and math, especially trigonometry, and wants to be a detective or a lawyer “because that way you get to help the world.” She praises Paterson for exposing her to students

Photo: Paterson Academy for the Gifted and Talented

Fourth-grader London McKnight checks for the use of figurative language in her narrative at the Paterson Academy for the Gifted and Talented.

from varied backgrounds. “It’s such a diverse school that now I see different points of view. It exposes us to other cultures, and I’m going to have a background most students don’t get. Two girls in my class are Bengali. There are Spanish speakers and African Americans, and we’ve learned to get along,” she said. Fourth-grader London McKnight, 9, offered similar praise: “I have some friends from the Dominican Republic and Bangladesh, and even though we have different cultures, we treat each other the same way. At this school we don’t use stereotypes. A stereotype? Well, that’s where you heard one person is doing something bad and then you see someone from that culture doing the right thing, but you’re still seeing the bad. We don’t do that.” Critically, academy students work in groups and take a problem-solving approach to learning in every class. “The only time they work

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THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016 | 25

Gifted Continued • page 25

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alone is at assessment,” math teacher Dorothy Yilmaz-Thornton explained. “Students come in to my room in the morning, sit down in small groups and confer on their homework. Only if they can’t resolve something does the teacher step in — and their groups are constantly changing throughout the school day.” McKnight says the collaboration helps. “We teach each other. If one of my friends has the answer wrong, he or she can turn to me. It makes our friendships grow closer,” she said. “I like to write narratives. I don’t like opinion writing because it’s not as much fun, but with narratives you get to use your imagination and make your own ending,” said McKnight, who has written a novel titled “The Mystery Box.” “I think it’s important to know I’m not the smartest kid in my family. I have four brothers and three sisters and all of them are smart,” McKnight added. “My dad [helps us and] tells us if we get a B to try harder.”

What Makes Paterson Tick?

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What’s the secret of Paterson’s success? Part of it stems from widespread administrative support and intensive planning from day one, said Routé. She said that Paterson Public Schools State District Superintendent Donnie W. Evans strongly “wanted to open a school for the gifted” and set up a committee to find a potential pool of students. It included students above the advanced proficient level of 250, particularly those who scored 275 or above in math, science and English on an assessment where 300 is a perfect score. However, admission into Paterson Academy depends on “multiple parameters”

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and never “just one piece of evidence,” teacher Yilmaz-Thornton emphasized. “We surveyed all our principals, who said, ‘Do it, do it, do it!’ and we brought in district parents,” Routé recalled, noting that some of them disliked the proposed school location in a rather rough area and had to be convinced of its benefits. Another key to the academy’s success is rigorous staff training, Routé said. All Paterson teachers and administrators, with no exceptions, undergo a district-funded certificate program in gifted education offered by Rutgers University. Parents and students alike appreciate the results. “Regular schools” don’t challenge certain students because they “know everything being taught,” student Pena said. But at Paterson, she said, “You never have to stop. If you have a question or a topic you’re interested in, you can just go — go wherever your mind takes you, ask the questions, look things up! And you get help while you’re doing it.” She added: “Every day my math teacher puts up a ‘guide’ to help us. A guide may be something such as, ‘A grade doesn’t define you.’ We’ve learned that a grade is something the world has made to define people, but it’s not the final truth. That truth includes your ideals, your dignity, your capabilities, how you look at yourself.” Another guide says that, “If you doubt yourself, keep trying.” Pena said Paterson teaches students “that if we set a high bar for ourselves, there’s no limit.” Yilmaz-Thornton described the school’s students as ambitious, driven and curious. “When I recently began teaching a particular topic, one student mentioned, ‘I watched a video on that last night because I thought you might be teaching that today,’” she recalled. “My kids are so inquisitive, so self-motivated. They ask why — always.” Carolyn Cosmos is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

Luxury Living A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

•

September 2016

PhoTos: JamEs Cullum

Living Symbols

above, the foyer of the norwegian residence is lined with blackand-white subway tile and brynjulf strandenaes’s large 1934 portrait of norway’s King haakon vii, as well as Dag alveng’s 1996 “summer light” photo of the sun shining through a norwegian forest. along a nearby spiral staircase, a 1911 bust of King olav v as a boy sits in the window frame.

Embassies of Monaco, Norway Proudly Celebrate Milestones •

by JamEs Cullum

mbassies and residences in Washington, D.C., are a microcosm of diplomacy and history. The buildings themselves stand as a physical embodiment of their governments back home. Many have intriguing backstories and represent the personalities of their respective nations. As important national symbols, these buildings also need to be continually maintained and promoted. This month, The Washington Diplomat talks to the ambassador of Monaco as her country celebrates an important milestone. We also tour the Norwegian Residence to see how the country updated the ambassador’s home away from home.

monaCo marKs 10 yEars of TiEs WiTh u.s. This month, Monaco reached the 10-year mark since opening its embassy in D.C., establishing full diplomatic relations with the U.S. In addition, the ambassador of the world’s second-smallest country has been working on its behalf for 40 years. Ambassador Maguy

Maccario Doyle, who has spent nearly three years in her latest post, will welcome Prince Albert II to Washington in recognition of the milestone. “Monaco is very well respected and is a friend to all countries,” Maccario told The Washington Diplomat in a recent interview at her residence in the heart of D.C.’s prestigious Kalorama neighborhood. “We are a small country and we have a prince who is very active, so the role of Monaco is to be a catalyst for opening discussions and solving many of the world’s problems. That could be the playground sEE SYMBOLS • PaGE 28

a sign says that former u.s. President Warren G. harding once lived at monaco’s residence.

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMbEr 2016 | 27

the rich and famous known for its casinos, opera and beaches (also see “Small in Size, Prestigious Microstate Is Rich in Personality” in Continued • page 27 the February 2016 issue). “I was very nervous the first that Monaco could become. It’s safe, time that I met her because I it’s secure, it’s apolitical.” had to pick her up at the airport,” The ambassador’s residence, a Maccario said. “I thought, ‘What four-level, Georgian red-brick towndo I say? How should I behave?’ house with three bedrooms, was built But she made me feel very comby former U.S. President Warren G. fortable, and although I was too Harding in 1916 when he was a Reshy to ask questions, I asked her a publican senator from Ohio. Monaco question that was very important bought the residence in 2006 and for me. Looking at her film career Prince Albert II formally inaugurated and moving to Monaco, which it a year later. The home underwent an was a different country at the time extensive renovation prior to Monathat she came, she did not speak co’s purchase that meticulously strove the language, she was a princess to preserve and restore the building’s that married the prince. I said, original features. ‘I left Monaco because I thought Photos: James Cullum Although the residence had fallen it was so small and I needed to into disrepair, the original structure Monaco bought its Kalorama residence in 2006 and Prince Albert II formally inaugurated it a year later. expand myself, and you had evremained largely intact, thanks in erything and made the trip in part to the fact that it had a single owner, Dorothy Tirrell Clagett, for over 75 reverse,’ and she laughed, and she said, ‘Yes, it wasn’t easy in the beginning. Every years. A prominent ambassadorial aide at the State Department following World time I came up with projects or ideas, I was told, ‘Madam, it’s impossible.’ EveryWar II and the granddaughter of a Massachusetts congressman, Clagett spent de- thing was impossible,’” Maccario recalled her saying. cades living and entertaining dignitaries at the Wyoming Avenue residence. “It was because she was a woman, because she wanted change. The piece of Today, the stately residence often plays host to Monaco’s receptions and visiting advice she gave was that if I ever had a project, to keep focused on the final goal of dignitaries. my project and to keep that focus — not to let anyone divert you from your goal, “Not shabby,” Maccario said of the residence. “It was a welcoming change from because if you start to think that way they will carry you into other directions from New York. It’s like country living in the city with the your path and you will lose track of birds waking me up instead of the fire department or where you’re really supposed to go police going by my apartment.” in the end. So perseverance. Stay the She spent nearly four decades in New York reprecourse. That was important, because senting her government, and waking up to the sounds every time I have a project I really of traffic from a Manhattan apartment. She began work want to come through, you have to at Monaco’s national tourist office in New York City in fight. It’s about being authentic, it’s 1976, became its director for North America in 1994, about knowing what you’re talking was appointed consul of Monaco in New York in 1995 about and not being afraid to roll up and was promoted to consul general in 1997. She reyour sleeves and get into it because mained Monaco’s U.S. tourism director until Prince you need to.” Albert II appointed her as ambassador in November Maccario, whose life has been 2013. speckled with encounters with the Maccario and Prince Albert II have grown into their rich and famous, including Cary roles on parallel tracks, the latter being crowned sovGrant, Gary Cooper, Denzel Washereign ruler of Monaco in 2005 after the death of his ington, Christopher Reeve and Paul father, Prince Rainier III. Newman, has never been star-struck Maccario’s platform in the U.S. revolves around en- An extensive renovation of Monaco’s residence prior to the government’s except perhaps last year when she of it meticulously strove to preserve and restore the building’s vironmental and tourism issues. She is also the vice purchase met former President George H.W. original features. president of the Prince Albert II of Monaco FoundaBush for a State Department-spontion, which supports hundreds of projects around the globe to promote sustain- sored series of ambassadorial events. able development and help vulnerable ecosystems, and she is the president of the “At the end of the visit at the George W. Bush Presidential Library [in Texas], Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, which teaches swimming and water they said, ‘We have a surprise for you and George Bush Sr. is here to say hello to all safety to children around the world. of you.’ So we were about 50 ambassadors in a private room and he came. He was “I’ve known the prince forever, I think,” the ambassador said. “Friends is a big in a wheelchair because he had broken his neck…. He’s a charming man, and he word because he’s still my boss, but there’s definitely a great respect. I think he’s came to me and he said, ‘Oh my goodness! What a beautiful woman! She’s beautia very good man. He has the intelligence and the heart, and for me that’s very ful!’ And I was red-faced.” important because you can reThe ambassador stood over him because he was seatspect, but you also want to be ed in a wheelchair, a somewhat awkward position that inspired.” led to a rather embarrassing diplomatic faux-pas. “I was Maccario, who lists Prince standing there like that and he put his hand there [on Albert II’s mother, Princess her behind], so everybody was like ‘Wow!’ But I didn’t Grace, as a key mentor, was think it meant anything. And then after that the protoborn and raised in Monaco by col person said, ‘Oh, I apologize,’ and I said not to worry French art dealer parents. Afabout it. I should have kissed him, but I didn’t dare to do ter the bus dropped her from that. That was a sweet moment.” school, she would see the latest Maccario, who also serves on the Professional Adviphotos of the royal family phosory Board of the ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research tographer at a shop right next Hospital, spends much of her time focusing on Monato her parents’ gallery. co’s leading industry: tourism. “I didn’t even know she was “I’m not so into exchange of trades, because our an actress,” Maccario said of economy is not based on that and is very, very small, Princess Grace, formerly the and [instead focus on] the cultural and humanitarian efOscar-winning actress Grace forts that help people around the world,” she said. Kelly, who married Prince Spending your professional life in the service of your Rainier in 1956. “Of course, country can be a daunting endeavor, however. growing up in Monaco, the The Norwegian ambassador’s residential library is modernly furnished and adorned “At one point I felt like I was at a dead-end at the tourprincely family is very much a by Svein Bolling’s “Woman With Candle” and Kjell Torriset’s “Shape of Faith” cloud ist board [in Monaco],” she confessed, “and I remember part of our life, but I had never paintings. talking to my dad. We were in Monaco, and I said, ‘I met her. We were never shown don’t know if I should stay. Maybe I’ve been working her films in Monaco at the time, so I did not really know of her level of a career too long for Monaco. Maybe I should do something else?’ And he said, ‘You’re until I came here to the United States.” not going to leave Monaco, are you? You can’t leave Monaco.’ And then he passed Maccario moved to New York City in her early 20s. away … and that made me decide [to leave]. And then things turned around. So “That wasn’t easy, especially in the beginning when you don’t know people. I never lose hope.” remember I was so lonely I used to go out into the street to be surrounded with people,” she said. Norway Glimmers with Old and New It was in New York that she first met Princess Grace, who retired from acting The Norwegian ambassador’s residence hasn’t looked this good since 1931, at the age of 26 to marry Rainier. Princess Grace was killed after a car crash in Monaco in 1982 and spent half her 52 years in the Mediterranean getaway for when the building was officially inaugurated. Situated across from the U.S. vice

Symbols

28 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

â€œ

The updating of the residence was the first step in renovating the Norwegian Embassy in D.C. ... The residence is one of Norwayâ€™s most important venues for building and maintaining bilateral relations with U.S. officials and U.S. citizens.

â€?

KĂĽre R. Aas, ambassador of Norway to the United States

Photo: James Cullum

A statue of Norwayâ€™s Crown Princess MĂ¤rtha waves in front of the ambassadorâ€™s residence. The crown princess lived in Washington with her son, Harald V, the future king, during World War II.

presidentâ€™s residence, the Georgian mansion is home to an iconic statue of Crown Princess MĂ¤rtha, who proudly stands at 3401 Massachusetts Ave., NW, waving at the city that sheltered she and her son, Harald V, the future king, from the Nazis during the Second World War. Now, the beauty of the mansionâ€™s exterior is matched by the recently completed modernization of its interior. â€œThe updating of the residence was the first step in renovating the Norwegian Embassy in D.C.,â€? Norwegian Ambassador KĂĽre R. Aas told The Washington Diplomat. (The embassy sits directly behind the residence on 34th Street.) â€œThe residence is one of Norwayâ€™s most important venues for building and maintaining bilateral relations with U.S. officials and U.S. citizens.â€? Aas himself never got to enjoy the residence much. Shortly after arriving in Washington in late 2013, it shuttered its doors for much-needed upgrades. The one-year project started simply enough â€” adding indoor handicap-accessible ramps and an elevator â€” but a 25-year lull since its last renovation led to a fullscale $3 million, two-and-a-half-year overhaul. That meant new wiring, paint, furniture and lighting to revamp the property, which sees an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 annual visitors. The official reopening was in April â€” just in time for the U.S.-Nordic Leaders White House Summit â€” while finishing touches were completed in June. Aas said the renovations promote and display traditional Norwegian culture with modern and classical art and fixtures.

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REAL ESTATE

â€œIn modernizing the residence, we managed to preserve the original 1931 architecture and combine it with high environmental standards. It was also important for us to find a balance between inside and outside space, especially because being outside in fresh air is an essential part of Norwegian values.â€? Norwegians are famous for spending time outdoors, and the residenceâ€™s backyard now includes a Ping-Pong table (a favorite of the ambassador and his son), a wood-burning pizza stove, a meeting table and plenty of seating. Norway built the five-bedroom residence to be an embassy in 1931. Visitors, upon entering the front door and choosing the stairs or a ramp, are greeted by black-and-white subway tile and Brynjulf Strandenaesâ€™s large 1934 portrait of Norwayâ€™s King Haakon VII and Dag Alvengâ€™s 1996 â€œSummer Lightâ€? photo of the sun shining through a Norwegian forest. The wood-paneled office is exotically lit by paper lamps that shine on one of the residenceâ€™s most enduring artifacts: King Harald Vâ€™s boyhood desk while he lived in Washington, which is now used by the ambassador and his 15-year-old son. A spiral staircase takes you past Percy Bryant Bakerâ€™s marble bust of King Olav V as a child and into a modernly furnished library that is elegantly adorned by Svein Bollingâ€™s â€œWoman With Candleâ€? and Kjell Torrisetâ€™s â€œShape of Faithâ€? cloud paintings. The sitting room is where classical truly meets modern, as the sleek, almost plain furniture is muted by paintings of Norwayâ€™s landscape, numerous Edvard Munch paintings (seven throughout the residence) and a lush carpet owned by Vidkun Abraham Lauritz JonssĂ¸n Quisling, Norwayâ€™s head of government during the Nazi occupation. The dining room is similarly adorned, focusing less on the elegance of its table and instead on its surroundings. Even though the hammers have stopped their banging and all the paint has dried, the work is far from over. A major renovation of the chancery is planned for next year. James Cullum (@JamesCullum2) is a contributing writer and photographer for The Washington Diplomat.

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Worldly Reno Agnes O’Hare is an Irish architect and interior designer who met her future husband, European Union Ambassador David O’Sullivan, in Tokyo. She now finds herself in D.C. in charge of renovating the EU’s Kalorama residence. / PAGE 33

THEATER

Unsung 9/11 Heroes Fifteen years ago, the 9/11 terrorist attacks touched millions of people around the world. They also directly touched a tiny town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland whose population essentially doubled overnight when 38 planes were diverted to Gander in the wake of global chaos and panic. / PAGE 34

PHOTO: COURTESY THE ARTIST AND AXIS GALLERY, NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK / BY FRANKO KHOURY

PHOTOGRAPHY

Tranquil Trees In the hectic, workaday world of Washington, D.C., photographer Stephen Voss often works at breakneck speed taking portraits of politicians, so he sought out a more contemplative place among the gentle curves and gnarled limbs of bonsai. / PAGE 35

ABOUT TIME Theo Eshetu’s “Brave New World I,” above, and Berni Searle’s “A Matter of Time,” at left.

MULTIMEDIA

PHOTO: COURTESY THE ARTIST

Time loops, layers and jumps in a new video and film-based exhibition at the National Museum of African Art, mesmerizing viewers with beautiful and challenging contemporary works from six critically acclaimed African artists.“Senses of Time: Video and Film-based Works of Africa” features dramatically different landscapes and subjects, while still exploring the common theme of how time is experienced, and produced, by the body. / PAGE 32

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“Jelly’s Last Jam” is a sizzling way to end the summer. / PAGE 37

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A Matter of Time World Doesn’t Stay Still at National Museum of African Art •

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ime loops, layers and jumps in a new video and film-based exhibition at the National Museum of African Art, mesmerizing viewers with beautiful and challenging contemporary works from six critically acclaimed African artists. “Senses of Time: Video and Film-based Works of Africa” strikes a powerful chord for viewers, offering seven vivid, singular experiences that each command attention. The videos on display by contemporary artists Sammy Baloji, Moataz Nasr, Berni Searle, Sue Williamson, Theo Eshetu and Yinka Shonibare feature dramatically different landscapes and subjects, while still exploring the common theme of how time is experienced, and produced, by the body. “The artists are very specifically manipulatPHOTO: COURTESY THE ARTIST AND JAMES COHAN GALLERY, NEW YORK ing time, working with the substance of time Among the video works that explore the notion of as a creative medium to make points about time at the National Museum of African Art are, from race and personal identity, family and memtop, Yinka Shonibare’s “Un Ballo in Maschera,” Samory, politics and history itself,” curator Karen my Baloji’s “Mémoire” and Sue Williamson’s “There’s Milbourne told The Washington Diplomat. Something I Must Tell You.” The show, co-organized with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, was spurred Matter of Time,” that look at memory, history by Milbourne’s interest in the theme of time and family. The stunner is “About to Forget,” in and the relationship to African art, as well as which viewers face three giant white frames that the idea of time-based media itself. The term quickly fill with red silhouettes. It’s a hypnotic comes from the art conservation realm, piece, accompanied by the sounds of water and where people are “used to working with bugs, that envelops the viewer as the red color pieces where the image stays still,” she said. swirls off the crepe paper figures and out of the Time-based media contests those tradiframe. Water drips and engulfs the images — and tional notions of art, as viewers will experithen it all begins again. ence for themselves in the videos on display. In “There’s Something I Must Tell You,” EngDuration serves as a dimension for these lish-born, South African-raised Williamson PHOTOS: COURTESY THE ARTIST AND AXIS GALLERY, NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK works, just as height or width would for a delivers the most traditional, conventional painting. documentary-style piece in the “Too often, time is considered as a byproduct of the meexhibition: a multimedia art indium rather than one of the strategies,” Milbourne noted. stallation recording six women “Each of the pieces really deals with time as it is experienced who fought against apartheid in by bodies, how we dance and dissolve. Each one is focused on South Africa speaking with their human beings and the experience of time. And if you think born-free generation of grandabout it, you can just stand and hold your pulse and look at daughters. Images of the women, the ticking of the clock and see our bodies are moving at a difpast and present, draw in viewers ferent beat than the tick of a clock.” as they appear alongside the powerful filmed conversations, inviting viewers to She added: “It’s about how we slow and speed and loop and repeat time for dif- consider the gaps in experience, generations and political history that both divide ferent experiences or purposes.” and unite these South African women. It’s a gorgeous, thought-provoking piece These pieces also put politics at the forefront. London-born Nigerian artist that is worth watching for the full 36-minute runtime. Shonibare’s video “Un Ballo in Maschera,” for instance, films European dancers Meanwhile, Nasr, an Egyptian artist, directly engages with the Arab Spring in wearing African-print ball gowns in a metaphor for the Iraq War and the absur- his piece “The Water,” a commentary on former President Hosni Mubarak and the dity of political violence. tensions leading up to the demonstrations and his downfall. And Eshetu’s “Brave “Do we really want to keep having history repeat itself?” Milbourne said. “He’s New World I” is likely to be one of Washington’s most Instagrammed pieces this looking at how we repeat patterns of behavior in a sumptuous, gorgeous manner, summer, a mirror box where both the viewer and the films are reflected, showcasbut that is the motivation behind it.” ing what Milbourne describes as the “difference of ritual time and the pursuit of Baloji’s video also explores politics through choreography in “Mémoire,” as the timelessness and technological time.” artist — from Lubumbashi, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Milbourne said her “motivational point” with much of the exhibition was the once-wealthy Copperbelt region — weaves the voices of the country’s politicians idea that “with Africa, time becomes particularly significant because for too long, together with evocative images of a man dancing through the ruins of a deindus- Africans haven’t been seen as co-equal with the rest of the world.” trialized landscape. “Historical specificity is not often attached or associated in the African context,” “This exhibition represents the diversity of African experiences,” the curator she said. “Too often we don’t associate cutting-edge tech with African artists, but said. “These are artworks that are intended to help us think about the choices we we’re showing the innovation coming from this continent for decades.” WD make within our nations and for other nations, to get us to think about them in different ways — to feel it in our stomachs, see the patterns that repeat.” Mackenzie Weinger (@mweinger) is a contributing writer South Africa’s Searle has two pieces in the exhibition, “About to Forget” and “A for The Washington Diplomat.

32 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMBER 2016

WD | Culture | Diplomatic Spouses

Irish Makeover Well-Traveled Architect Wife of EU Envoy Supervises Residence Renovation •

BY GAIL SCOTT

iving through a home renovation is never easy. Dust and noise seep into every room every day. Sometimes there is no water, no electricity and therefore no air conditioning or heat. Mistakes and delays are part of the job. But most architects and interior designers don’t sleep inside their projects. Agnes O’Hare does. The wife of European Union Ambassador David O’Sullivan, O’Hare is an architect and interior designer who has taken on the job of remodeling the salmon-colored EU Residence in the tony Kalorama neighborhood. “You get used to [the disruption],” she told us. “You realize you have to adjust. When you renovate, you never know what you’ll find. We didn’t find a fortune or a skeleton — just a wasp nest.” The house was built in 1922 and initially renovated in 1996. “The major renovations we are doing are the heating and air conditioning systems, combining the breakfast room with the kitchen and changing all the bathrooms,” O’Hare explained as she expertly strolled through the construction site, noting where walls used to be located. “We need all this when we are hosting a big event,” she said, pointing out the family kitchen, which is just around the corner from the main catering kitchen. The elegant residence off Belmont Road, NW, is a far cry from her more down-to-earth digs growing up in Ireland. “I grew up on a dairy farm,” O’Hare said. “It was a horse farm, too. We were five girls and two boys and our life was pleasant and exciting. We were very close as a family even though we all went away to Agnes O’Hare, an architect and interior designer who is married to European Union boarding school.” Ambassador David O’Sullivan, poses against the backdrop of a Finnish summer house O’Hare studied interior design in Dublin before moving to Melbourne, at this year’s EU Open House showcase. Australia. “I had read ‘The Thorn Birds,’” she laughed as she recalled the bestselling novel about a fictional sheep station in the Australian Outback Only a few French words used in architecture, like ‘cuisine,’ which means named after an Irish town. “Even as a child I enjoyed reading…. The Irish ‘kitchen,’ are easy to guess.” have a history of immigrating to Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.” Eventually, O’Hare set up her own architectural practice, which she has Perhaps it’s only fitting then that O’Hare met her Irish husband far from managed for the last 25 years. The business, based out of Brussels, specializhome — in Tokyo, of all places. She and a friend from New Zealand were on es in domestic architecture. “I am winding down my business. It still exists. I a four-month backpacking excursion making their way back from Australia, work on computer, FaceTime and phone. It works well once I remember the where she had spent the last four years working as an interior designer. They time difference. I can reach all my tradesman and clients this way.” traveled extensively throughout Asia: Hong Brussels has been the couple’s home away Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, from home for decades. Prior to his posting Burma, India and Nepal, with side trips to Turto D.C., O’Sullivan served as chief operatkey, Greece and what was then Yugoslavia. ing officer of the European External Action Meanwhile, David O’Sullivan, a longtime Service and was responsible for establishing European diplomat, was in Japan’s capital city this new EU diplomatic service. Although serving as first secretary in the Delegation of the ambassador began in the Irish Foreign the Economic Commission, the precursor to Service, he has spent most of his career in the EU. The two had originally met back in the European Commission, now the executheir native Ireland. “In Tokyo, we stayed in his AGNES O’HARE tive arm of the EU. Because of that, the famapartment for two or three nights. We clicked wife of European Union Ambassador David O’Sullivan ily spent most of their time in Brussels. That right away but I continued on my journey back includes the couple’s two children, who were to Ireland. Several months later, I went back to born and raised in Belgium. visit. We had been corresponding,” O’Hare recalled. Both children returned to Ireland, however, to study at O’Sullivan’s alma “We were married in a side chapel of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Tokyo by mater, Trinity College in Dublin, for their undergraduate degrees. Their son an Indian Jesuit. I loved Tokyo. I had no Japanese, so I worked in the Berlitz Shane, 25, is now a doctor in Ireland specializing in anesthesiology. Kate, 22, School teaching English to Japanese groups.” recently completed her law degree here at Georgetown University. O’Hare eventually began working for the Japanese engineering and archiWhile in D.C., O’Hare follows up with her European clients, supervises tectural firm Nikken Sekkei. “It was massive: 800 architects and engineers. I the renovation of the residence and finds time to volunteer at the Veterans worked in the interior design department on the designs for Cairo’s Opera Medical Center on Irving Street, NW. “I have a good friend who knew I House. It had burned down. We worked on Islamic designs for furniture wanted to do some worthwhile volunteering. She introduced me to the Vetand this needed careful research.” erans Medical Center where I work in the outpatient pharmacy … handing When the couple returned to Brussels, the headquarters of the European out prescriptions. I am the kind of person who needs to keep busy,” she said. Commission, O’Hare decided to formally study architecture. “I was less sat- “If you can help, I think you should.” isfied with being an interior designer because people linked it to interior Otherwise, she enjoys what doing what she’s done her whole life: explordecoration,” she explained. ing. “It is extremely exciting to be here. America is extraordinary. I love She chose L’École de la Cambre, a renowned architecture and visual arts to travel…. It’s fascinating to meet new people,” said O’Hare, whose husschool, and began studying in French, which was “very difficult, especially band went to grade school in California and has also traveled extensively the French architectural terms. I had only my school French from Ireland. throughout the United States. I had to learn an entire technical vocabulary in another language. For exSEE DIPLOMATIC SPOUSES • PAGE 39 ample, a ‘beam’ in English is ‘une poutre’ in French and a ‘carpet’ is a ‘tapis.’

“

Ireland will always be home, but we have lived a full and happy life in Brussels for over 30 years.

”

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMBER 2016 | 33

WD | Culture | Theater

Uplifting Tale Tiny Canadian Town Welcomes Thousands of Stranded 9/11 Passengers •

BY KATE OCZYPOK

Come From Away SEPT. 2 TO OCT. 9 FORD’S THEATRE 511 10TH ST., NW TICKETS ARE $20 TO $73.

(202) 347-4833 | WWW.FORDS.ORG

ifteen years ago this month, the 9/11 terrorist attacks touched millions of people not only in the United States, but around the world. They also directly touched the people of Gander, a tiny town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland whose population essentially doubled overnight when 38 planes carrying, 6,579 passengers were diverted to Gander in the wake of global chaos and panic. Townspeople opened their homes and helped in ways both big and small to offer comfort to the stranded, frightened passengers. Their stories received national acclaim when Tom Brokaw aired a special during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics on the lasting bonds formed between those passengers and Gander residents. The veteran journalist said their hospitality “summarizes the grace and generous spirit of this very unselfish nation.” Now, Gander’s story is coming to D.C. this month with the rousing musical “Come From Away,” which is heading to Broadway next year but, before that, is showing at Ford’s Theatre after successful runs in San Diego and Seattle. David Hein and Irene Sankoff had a friend who approached them with a unique idea: to create a musical based on the events that happened in Gander during and after 9/11. The husband and wife team’s 2009 musical “My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding” attracted the eye of Michael Rubinoff, who was looking for someone to write “Come From Away.” Little did they all know it would become the fifth Canadian musical ever to go to Broadway and only the second set in Canada. “This comes with a lot of responsibility,” Hein told The Diplomat. Hein and Sankoff headed up to the small, folksy town of Gander for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 to get some more details on the town that housed thousands of airline passengers after U.S. and Canadian airspace was closed in the aftermath of the plane attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. “There were the pilots, people who have fallen in love there and had their lives changed and were reunited in Gander to commemorate what happened,” Hein said. “We spent almost a month there talking to people, hearing story after story of extraordinary generosity and kindness. We came back so inspired — full of stories that made us laugh, cry and want to share with people.” Sankoff added that the people of Gander responded with open arms and a sense of solidarity that stood in “stark contrast” to the brutality of the 19 al-Qaeda terrorists who transformed planes into missiles that took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. The couple was in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, and Hein himself had a cousin in the World Trade Center Twin Towers who managed to escape the inferno. Their own experiences with 9/11 made them determined to get Gander’s story right, a story Hein calls a “9/12 story, about a tiny community that responded to a terrible tragedy.” Sankoff is a Canadian citizen and Hein a dual American-Canadian citizen. Hein said he was moved by the innate kindness of our Canadian neighbors. “It should be how we respond,” he told us. In the skies, confusion reigned on 9/11 as thousands of aircraft were di-

34 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMBER 2016

PHOTO: SEATTLE REPERTORY CAST / CHRIS BENNION

Irene Sankoff and her husband David Hein, left, wrote “Come From Away,” a musical based on the true story of Gander, a tiny Canadian town that welcomed thousands of stranded airline passengers in the wake of 9/11.

verted, pilots dumped jet fuel to land and air traffic controllers fought to stay calm amid uncertainty and fear. Meanwhile, on the ground, Gander officials handled an unprecedented influx of planes, while residents of the two-stoplight town braced for a surge of people. The townspeople of Gander not only invited complete strangers into their homes to feed them, let them take a hot shower and get some sleep, they took them on tours, let them use their phones, donated clothing and ferried them around town. From running small errands to consoling people worried about the fate of loved ones, Gander’s residents stepped up. “No need was gone unanswered,” Sankoff said, citing a story about a woman who desperately missed her dog and just wanted a cup of coffee. A Gander native not only gave the displaced woman her coffee, she also got her own dog to sit with and comfort her. “Yet for the people of Newfoundland, it was just an ordinary thing to do,” Hein said. “These days it feels so extraordinary.” The musical tries to touch on as many stories as Hein and Sankoff could possibly squeeze into a 90-minute musical. There’s the pharmacist who stayed up two days in a row to fill thousands of prescriptions in different languages. There are specific characters too, like the mayor of Gander and Beverley Bass, the first female captain of a commercial airliner. During the 10th anniversary when Hein and Sankoff visited Gander, they were able to witness a pancake breakfast that airline passengers had organized for the residents to say thank you. Hein mentioned that Newfoundland police officers praised the airline passengers — most of whom had little information on what was happening in the U.S. — for their calm, commendable behavior as well. “They told us, ‘We couldn’t have done what we did if they gave us a hard time.’” Hein said he and his wife wanted to create a play about “finding common denominators, something about people.” Canadian Embassy spokesperson Christine Constantin said the play is a reflection of the strong ties between the two neighboring countries. “The tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, reinforced enduring bonds of friendship that underpin the Canada-U.S. relationship,” she said. “We are proud that this moving story, which highlights the resilience of both the citizens of the town of Gander in Newfoundland and Labrador and the stranded passengers who became their friends, is being highlighted here in the nation’s capital.” Just call it the Canadian way. WD Kate Oczypok (@OczyKate) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

WD | Culture | Photography

Trees in Training Japanese Venues Showcase Tranquil World of the Bonsai •

BY BRENDAN L. SMITH

In Training: Bonsai Photography by Stephen Voss THROUGH SEPT. 9 JAPAN INFORMATION AND CULTURE CENTER 1150 18TH ST., NW

(202) 238-6900

WWW.US.EMB-JAPAN.GO.JP/JICC/.

n the hectic, workaday world of Washington, D.C., photographer Stephen Voss often works at breakneck speed taking portraits of politicians, so he sought out a more contemplative place among the gentle curves and gnarled limbs of bonsai. “In D.C., when you photograph people, you are told you have 30 minutes with them, and when they walk in the door you have two minutes,” he said. “There’s not a lot of time to experiment or take risks.” After spending a year photographing bonsai at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in the U.S. National Arboretum, Voss published a photo book called “In Training” and exhibited his photos at the Arboretum in May during a bonsai festival. Another photo exhibition will be on display until Sept. 9 at the Japan Information and Culture Center. The photo exhibition is just one event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, which opened in 1976 with the donation of 53 bonsai trees from Japan to commemorate the U.S. bicentennial. On Oct. 15, an autumn festival will celebrate the renovation of the Japanese Pavilion with family activities, Japanese food trucks and demonstrations by a bonsai master. A ticketed moonlight viewing will include haiku readings and performances by Japanese musicians on a traditional stringed instrument called the koto. The Japanese Pavilion houses the museum’s collection of Japanese bonsai, including a 390-year-old Japanese white pine tree that survived the atomic bomb explosion at Hiroshima. “It’s become very symbolic of the peaceful relationship between Japan and the United States and a symbol of peace around the world,” said Johann Klodzen, executive director of the National Bonsai Foundation, which raised $3 million mostly from individual donations to fund the pavilion’s renovation. Designed by acclaimed Japanese garden designer Hoichi Kurisu, the Japanese Pavilion will feature bonsai in both formal and informal settings and atop granite boulders shipped from North Carolina and Washington state. Special showings of the bonsai when they are awash in fall colors will be held from Oct. 28 to Nov. 15. The events are cosponsored by the National Bonsai Foundation, Embassy of Japan, Japan-America Society and Japan Information and Culture Center. The centuries-old Japanese tradition of bonsai, or tray planting pronounced “bone-sigh,” descended from a similar Chinese art form called penjing. The trees are “in training” for decades or centuries and are passed down through an unbroken chain of bonsai masters who care for the trees through careful pruning, grafting and watering in shallow pots that restrict the trees’ root structure. Bonsai can be developed from numerous species, including Japanese maple, ginkgo, beech and sweetgum trees. In the United States, bonsai often represent regional distinctions, with juniper bonsai popular in California and cypress in the South where they are commonly found in swamps. After World War II, bonsai became popular in the United States when

Among Steven Voss’s photographs of Japanese bonsai are a 34-year-old rhododendron, at left, as well as a white pine bonsai started in 1625. The white pine, also known as the Yamaki pine, was one of the original 53 trees gifted from Japan to the U.S. in 1976; it wasn’t known until later that this tree survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II.

American soldiers who had seen the miniature trees returned home from Japan. Japanese Americans also helped spread the tradition. Bonsai are traditionally shown in homes and gardens in Japan, and the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum was the first bonsai museum in the world when it opened in 1976. “For a growing audience, there’s just an appreciation of the art form and the beauty of growing lovely, handsome trees in small pots,” Klodzen said. Voss knew very little about bonsai before his first trip to the Arboretum on a whim turned into a yearlong journey during which he spent hours photographing one bonsai at a time, seeking to capture the spirit of the trees with close-ups of their knotted trunks and changing leaves. “It was really peaceful and quiet and beautiful there,” said Voss, whose photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Time, the Atlantic and elsewhere. “I would be there for three or four hours at a time in the winter and not see another person.” His photos feature the crooked, barren limbs of a Chinese elm, the delicate pink blooms of a rhododendron, and the bushy green needles and bone-white trunk of a Sargent juniper in training since 1905. Voss’s favorite bonsai is called Goshin, one of the most famous bonsai in the world that was donated to the museum by Japanese American bonsai master John Yoshio Naka, who died in 2004. The painstakingly arranged collection of 11 Foemina junipers creates a miniature forest in a single shallow tray, with each tree representing one of Naka’s grandchildren. The museum’s North American Pavilion is named after him. “I love the philosophy of bonsai and the meaning and spirit behind these trees,” Voss said. “I think there’s something really profound about standing in front of these trees and thinking how long they have lived and how they have passed through generations of bonsai masters.” WD Brendan L. Smith (www.brendanlsmith.com) is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C. THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMBER 2016 | 35

WD | Culture | History

Unstoppable ‘Will & Jane’ Literary Giants Shakespeare, Austen Inspire ‘Cult of Celebrity’ at Folger •

BY GARY TISCHLER

Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity THROUGH NOV. 6 FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY 201 EAST CAPITOL ST., SE

(202) 544-4600 | WWW.FOLGER.EDU

illiam Shakespeare: Elizabethan elitist, difficult and dramatic. Jane Austen: Regency-era romantic, witty and wry. Isn’t that how many of us distilled the Bard’s array of plays, with their kings and fairies, and how we recalled Austen’s early 19th-century novels, whose heroines avoided a host of suitors, both suitable and unsuitable, to find true love? You’ve probably rethought those initial clichéd reactions through the course of encountering the Bard’s deft use of the English language or embraced Austen’s astute observations of English social mores. Though their lives and work were vastly different, the two literary greats share one thing in common: a spectacular afterlife. “Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity” is the lavish, beguiling new exhibition at the Folger Shakespeare Library that celebrates the forever fame these two historic figures enjoy. Holy Kardashian! The Bard and Jane as celebrities? But it’s true, each in their own fashion. One look at the countless film and TV adaptations their books and plays have inspired is proof alone of their enduring celebrity. But their superstar status stretches back even further, with the Folger presenting a variety of souvenirs, rare books, manuscripts and other materials from the 1700s to the present. The exhibition feels like rummaging through your grandparents’ attic, crammed with curiosities from the past. “Will & Jane” features porcelain figurines; a copy of Austen’s novel “Emma” owned by her sister; pages from an Oscar-winning screenplay or two (Emma Thompson’s “Sense and Sensibility” and Tom Stoppard’s Oscar-winning “Shakespeare in Love”); paintings; advertisements; a lock of Austen’s hair; a mulberry goblet said to be made from the wood of a tree planted by Shakespeare; and gravestone rubbings of both authors’ tombs. Both authors were glorified and commercialized over the years. The parallels, in fact, are striking. This year marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, and 2017 will be the 200th anniversary of Austen’s. Part of the fascination with both writers stems from the fact that while they produced considerable literary output, very few personal details about them exist. They don’t lack for biographical books, films and essays written about them and their works, but hard-core, solid information about their personal lives is sparse. That may account for why, in Shakespeare’s case, there are more books about who really wrote Shakespeare’s plays than there are genuine biographies about the man. Be that as it may, the two super-authors remain celebrities in the modern age, which brings along with it idolatry, critical and uncritical, and a long line of attempts to enlarge, explain or improve upon their work. The exhibition, helpfully laid out like a map into sections, begins with

36 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMBER 2016

PHOTOS: FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

Above, action figures of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen sit on the front lawn of the Folger Shakespeare Library, which showcases items such as a lottery ticket for the Shakespeare Gallery, left, and various incarnations of both the Bard and Austen, far left.

George Romney’s oil painting “The Infant Shakespeare Attended by Nature and the Passions,” which looks like a richly painted Nativity scene — a preview of the deification of Will and Jane. Images of Austen, meanwhile, include a triptych of portraits that go from stern to plain to pretty. Speculation on Austen’s love life — and looks — abounds. Even the married Shakespeare’s love life is shrouded in mystery. Since so little is known, writers have been known to conjure romance for their subjects — hence a famous forged letter to the Bard’s wife Anne Hathaway. There is a kind of arc of connection between Will and Jane. Shakespeare’s journey to fame began in 1769 when actor and theater manager David Garrick organized a Shakespeare Jubilee in Stratford-upon-Avon, which included horse races, plays, concerts and picnics. This began the process of cultivating celebrity status for Will, and the artifacts on display here include an advertisement for a horse race, a lottery ticket and commemorative medallions that included the famous “we shall not see his like again” quote. This jubilee paraphernalia was followed by the premature opening of the Shakespeare Gallery, with life-size paintings of scenes from the Bard’s plays and a gift shop. Financially, the museum was a bust and the building was eventually demolished in 1870. Austen had occasion to see Shakespeare’s plays during that period and she even wrote a letter — on view here — smartly critiquing a production of “The Merchant of Venice” that she had seen. Although her own works were popular and well-received during her lifetime, Austen had to wait a little longer to achieve the kind of popularity that would normally surround literary celebrity. In the 1990s, BBC televised its production of “Pride and Prejudice,” which sparked an Austen revival in television and film, created a fandom world and made household names out of people like Gwyneth Paltrow and Colin Firth SEE WILL & JANE • PAGE 39

WD | Culture | Theater

On a Roll ‘Jelly’s Last Jam’ Is Sizzling Way to End Summer •

BY LISA TROSHINSKY PHOTO: MARGOT SCHULMAN

Jelly’s Last Jam THROUGH SEPT. 11 SIGNATURE THEATRE 4200 CAMPBELL AVE., ARLINGTON, VA. TICKETS START AT $40.

(703) 820-9771 | WWW.SIGTHEATRE.ORG

he Signature Theatre’s larger-than-life, kick-off production for its 2016-2017 season is a potent visual and musical wakeup call that lazy summer musings are over and it’s time to get moving. “Jelly’s Last Jam” will take you back to a particularly tantalizing space and time when jazz, blues and ragtime were curious, but addictive, experiments and the role of African Americans in this musical evolution went through major growing pains. Set designer Dan Conway creates another world before Act I even starts. He plops us in the middle of the Jungle Inn, a sleazy, salacious nightclub decked out in whorehouse reds and the cast iron and French antique decorative style found throughout New Orleans. Words like bawdy and illicit come to mind. It’s hard not to engage in the decadent scene. Some audience members observe the action from bistro tables topped with crystal lampshades that surround the stage. Others sitting in conventional rows can almost count the beads of sweat on the actors’ faces, as a meandering stage that links circular dance spaces with runways flanks the audience. Meanwhile, the orchestra towers over the stage along the back wall, positioned on top of a jungle motif scrim and behind a cast iron fence with spiral stairs on each side. Amid this evocative setting unfolds the story of Jelly Roll Morton, one of jazz music’s pioneers, whose life was anything but squeaky clean. Jelly is played by real-life jazz pianist Mark G. Meadows and his story is told through a series of flashbacks, emceed by the powerful and talented Cleavant Derricks as Chimney Man. The narrative is a sort of musical version of “A Christmas Carol,” with Jelly Roll as Scrooge and Chimney Man as Jacob Marley’s ghost. Foreboding Chimney Man exposes Jelly (born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe in 1890) as the conflicted but exceptionally talented artist who had plenty of inner demons. Morton struggled with his racial identity — he was born a colored French Creole mulatto in the Deep South — and this reportedly eroded his professional and personal relationships with fellow, often darker-skinned, African Americans. For most of the play, we see an embittered man who was emotionally wounded as a teen by his strict Creole grandmother, played phenomenally by Iyona Blake, who disowned him for playing the piano at a local brothel (where he allegedly took on the nickname “Jelly Roll,” which was slang for female genitalia). Morton compensated for his pain with a large ego, and even though he was noted for arranging the first published jazz composition, he was infamously resented for claiming that he had “invented jazz” and turning on his closest allies. Arguably the best part of the performance is the music, singing and dancing, but the production is not without its flaws. The script itself is a bit disjointed. The hurried ending miraculously ties up the unpleasantness of Morton’s life and finishes on a happy note that seems unfounded. And while director Matthew Gardiner makes excellent casting choices for the main parts and ensemble, his choice of Meadows as Morton, although apropos since he is actually an expert pianist, pales in comparison to the rest of the cast regarding the level of acting. This fact is not too surprising considering that Meadows has no prior acting experience and was recruited — reluctantly at first — by Gardiner after he came across a video of the up-and-coming musician.

PHOTOS: CHRISTOPHER MUELLER

Real-life pianist Mark G Meadows, seen above, stars as jazz icon Jelly Roll Morton in “Jelly’s Last Jam,” alongside Cleavant Derricks as the Chimney Man, top, and Felicia Boswell as Anita, at left.

However, the cast’s formidable talent as singers and dancers, as well as Morton’s original score and the orchestration by conductor Darius Smith, make up for the play’s failings. With solid choreography from Jared Grimes that is heavy on syncopated, intricate tap, mixed with energetic Lindy Hop and African repertoire, the dancers appear to lift off from the stage in mid-flight. One performer actually dances atop a piano while it’s being raised onto the stage. Noted dancers include Joseph Webb, who appeared on Broadway in “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk”; DeWitt Fleming Jr., a D.C. native; and Olivia Russell, a Howard University graduate, just to name a few. The large production numbers are peppered in between with outstanding solos. Felicia Boswell, who played Diana Ross in “Motown” on Broadway, is a sultry, gutsy, easy-on-the-eyes Anita, Jelly’s love interest. Boswell brings down the house in the musical number “Play the Music for Me” and her acting is on point. Iyona Blake as Jelly’s grandmother, meanwhile, gives a dauntingly strong rendition of “The Banishment,” and her black-laced Creole costume is just as frightening. The trio of girls who play the Hunnies — Eben Logan, Nova Y. Payton and Kara-Tameika Watkins — are deliciously feisty, flirtatious flapper girls who bring shimmy and wiggle to a shameful new level. As the play follows Morton’s trajectory from New Orleans to Chicago to New York, we witness his love/hate relationships with his sidekick, Jack the Bear, played by Guy Lockard, who he faults for being dark-skinned; and Anita, who eventually chooses Jack over him as a lover. Alongside Lockard and Boswell’s strong performances, here is where more acting chops from Meadows would have been welcomed. In the end, “Jelly’s Last Jam” is the kind of crowd-pleaser that will make you forget the stifling heat and humidity outside and transport you to a different kind of sizzling environment. WD Lisa Troshinsky is the theater reviewer for The Washington Diplomat. THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMBER 2016 | 37

WD | Culture | Film

Cinema Listings *Unless specific times are listed, please check the theater for times. Theater locations are subject to change.

architect behind the Final Solution. Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Dutch

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years

Ants on a Shrimp Directed by Maurice Dekkers (Netherlands, 2016, 88 min.) What happens when the world’s most acclaimed restaurant picks up and moves halfway across the world? Find out when chef René Redzepi of the esteemed Copenhagen foodie destination Noma and his team relocate to Japan to set up a five-week pop-up in Tokyo (Dutch, English and Japanese). The Avalon Theatre Wed., Sept. 7, 8 p.m.

English Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie Directed by Mandie Fletcher (U.K./U.S., 2016) Edina and Patsy are still oozing glitz and glamour, shopping, drinking and clubbing their way around London’s trendiest hotspots. Blamed for a major incident at a fashionable launch party, they become entangled in a media storm. Fleeing penniless to the glamorous playground of the super-rich, the French Riviera, they hatch a plan to make their escape permanent. West End Cinema

Anthropoid Directed by Sean Ellis (Czech Republic/U.K./France, 2016, 120 min.) This World War II thriller is based on the extraordinary true story of “Operation Anthropoid,” the code name for the Czechoslovakian operatives’ mission to assassinate SS officer Reinhard Heydrich, the main

Directed by Ron Howard (U.K./U.S., 2016, 99 min.) Featuring rare and exclusive footage, this documentary tells the story of the Beatles’ exceptional touring years from 1962 to 1966, examining the impact of touring on each of the Beatles’ relationships, musical evolution and lifestyle. The Avalon Theatre

Buena Vista Social Club Directed by Wim Wenders (Germany/U.S./U.K./France/Cuba, 1999, 105 min.) Over the course of several months, Wim Wenders observed and accompanied the Cuba-based band Buena Vista Social Club — first at home in Havana; then, weeks later, in April 1998 on their trip to Amsterdam for the first public performance of the band (which had never played together outside a studio); then, in July 1998, to their triumphal concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall (English and Spanish). AFI Silver Theatre Wed., Sept. 14, 7:15 p.m.

Complete Unknown Directed by Joshua Marston (U.S., 2016, 90 min.) Rachel Weisz gives a tour-de-force performance as a mysterious woman compulsively reinventing herself over and over again in this unsettling psychological exploration of identity. Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Opens Fri., Sept. 2

The Dressmaker Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse (Australia, 2016, 118 min.)

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

FILM HIGHLIGHT

Latin American Film Festival N

ow in its 27th year, the AFI Latin young man who takes on the byzantine Catholic American Film Festival (Sept. 15 to Oct. Church to get his name removed from the 5) showcases the best filmmaking from Latin baptismal record; “The Companion” about an America and, with the inclusion of films from unlikely friendship in a Cuban AIDS sanatorium Spain and Portugal, celebrates in the 1980s; “Sr. Pig” about an Ibero-American cultural conelderly farmer who sets off on a LEARN MORE: nections. This year’s selection road trip through Mexico to find For more information, visit of films will once again include a home for his prized pig; “Oscuro www.afi.com/silver/laff/#. numerous international film Animal” about three brave women festival favorites, award winners, who escape from the paramilitarylocal box office hits and debut works by promcontrolled jungles of Colombia; and “Una Noche ising new talents. de Amor,” a Woody Allen-esque comedy of Highlights include “The Apostate” about a familial neurosis.

A glamorous woman returns to her small town in rural Australia. With her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women and exacts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong. Landmark’s Cinema Opens Fri., Sept. 23

Equity Directed by Meera Menon (U.S., 2016, 100 min.) Senior investment banker Naomi Bishop is threatened by a financial scandal and must untangle a web of deception and office politics. Forced to reexamine the rules of the cutthroat world she has always loved, she finds herself in a fight for her very survival. Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Florence Foster Jenkins Directed by Stephen Frears (U.K., 2016, 110 min.) Meryl Streep stars as Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreams of becoming an opera singer,

despite having a terrible singing voice. Angelika Mosaic Atlantic Plumbing Cinema Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Indignation Directed by James Schamus (U.S., 2016, 110 min.) In 1951, Marcus, a working-class Jewish student from New Jersey, attends a small Ohio college, where he struggles with sexual repression and cultural disaffection, amid the ongoing Korean War (English and Hebrew). Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema West End Cinema

Jason Bourne Directed by Paul Greengrass (U.S., 2016, 123 min.) Matt Damon returns to his most iconic role in Jason Bourne in the next chapter of the Bourne franchise, which finds the CIA’s most lethal former operative drawn out of the shadows. Angelika Mosaic Atlantic Plumbing Cinema

The Light Between Oceans Directed by Derek Cianfrance (U.S./New Zealand/U.K. A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from an adrift rowboat, making a choice with devastating consequences in this heartbreaking drama about fate, love, moral dilemmas and the lengths to which one couple will go to see their dreams realized. Angelika Mosaic The Avalon Theatre Opens Fri., Sept. 2

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World

Photo: Julieromano / Kino Lorber

Marila Mercedes Coroy stars as a young Mayan girl living on the slopes of an active volcano, where her family earns a meager living as coffee-pickers, in “Ixcanul.”

38 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

Directed by Werner Herzog (U.S., 2016, 98 min.) Oscar-nominated Werner Herzog chronicles the virtual world from its origins to its outermost reaches, exploring the digital landscape with the same curiosity and imagination he previously trained on earthly des-

tinations as disparate as the Amazon and the Sahara. Herzog leads viewers on a journey through a series of provocative conversations that reveal the ways in which the online world has transformed how virtually everything in the real world works, from business to education, space travel to healthcare, and the very heart of our personal relationships. Landmark’s E Street Cinema

London Road Directed by Rufus Norris (U.K., 2015, 91 min.) London Road documents the events of 2006, when the quiet rural town of Ipswich was shattered by the discovery of the bodies of five women. When a local resident was charged and then convicted of the murders, the community grappled with what it meant to be at the epicenter of this tragedy. Angelika Pop-Up Opens Fri., Sept. 16

Love & Friendship Directed by Whit Stillman Ireland/Netherlands/France/U.S., 2016, 94 min.) Beautiful young widow Lady Susan Vernon takes up temporary residence at her in-laws’ estate to wait out colorful rumors about her dalliances and to be a matchmaker for her daughter Frederica — and herself too, naturally. West End Cinema

Queen of Katwe Directed by Mira Nair (South Africa/U.S., 2016, 124 min.) “Queen of Katwe” is the colorful true story of a young girl selling corn on the streets of rural Uganda whose world rapidly changes when she is introduced to the game of chess. She quickly advances through the ranks in tournaments, but breaks away from her family to focus on her own life. Landmark’s Cinema Opens Fri., Sept. 30

Snowden Directed by Oliver Stone

(U.S./Germany/France, 2016, 134 min.) NSA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press. Angelika Mosaic Opens Fri., Sept. 16

Starving the Beast Directed by Steve Mims (U.S., 2016, 95 min.) As college tuition skyrockets and student debt explodes, this powerful new documentary reveals a nationwide fight for control of the heart, soul and finances of America’s public universities. The film reveals a historic philosophical shift that reframes public higher education as a “value proposition” to be borne by the student as a consumer, rather than an investment in citizens as a “public good.” Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., Sept. 2

French Les Cowboys Directed by Thomas Bidegain (France, 2015, 115 min.) In this inventive update on “The Searchers,” an old West enthusiast in modern-day France embarks on a 16-year odyssey to track down his daughter who has eloped and converted to Islam (French, English and Urdu). The Avalon Theatre Opens Wed., Sept. 21

Disorder Directed by Alice Winocour (France/Belgium, 2016, 98 min.) Vincent, a French Special Forces soldier just back from Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, is hired to ensure the safety of the wife of a wealthy Lebanese businessman in the South of France. While he feels a strange fascination for the woman he must protect, Vincent is prone to anxiety and hallucinations. Angelika Pop-Up Opens Fri., Sept. 2

German Until the End of the World (Bi sans ende der welt) Directed by Wim Wenders (Germany/France/Australia/U.S., 1991, 295 min.) This is “the ultimate road movie,” a journey around the globe, a modern-day Odyssey — and it certainly bears similarities to Homer’s saga. However, the aim of this journey is the spiritual reconciliation between an obsessed father and his lost son, and in this futuristic Odyssey, Penelope decides to set out in pursuit of Odysseus (German, English and French). AFI Silver Theatre Mon., Sept. 5, 1 p.m.

WD | Culture | Film

Wings of Desire Directed by Wim Wenders (W. Germany/France, 1987, 128 min.) After an eternity of looking after mortal beings, observing their lives, their loves, their passions and pains, intrigued angel Bruno Ganz decides to join them, crossing over to live life as they do. He discovers love with circus acrobat Solveig Dommartin and something like an old friend (German, English, French, Turkish, Hebrew, Japanese and Spanish). AFI Silver Theatre Fri., Sept. 2, 9:45 p.m., Mon., Sept. 5, 9:05 p.m., Wed., Sept. 7, 9:05 p.m.

hEbrEW Encirclements Directed by Lee Gilat (Israel, 2015, 98 min.) Thirteen-year-old Aharon, the only child of parents who are unable to conceive again, is determined to win the honor of carrying the Torah scrolls on Simhat Torah to elevate his status in the neighborhood and win his distant father’s approval and love. But after Aharon wins the honor, his achievement brings ancient tensions to the surface. The Avalon Theatre Opens Wed., Sept. 28

A Tale of Love and Darkness Directed by Natalie Portman (Israel, 2016, 95 min.) Natalie Portman stars in and directs this drama based on the memoir of Amos Oz, a writer, journalist and advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unhappy in her marriage and intellectually stifled, she would make up stories of adventures (like treks across the desert) to cheer herself up and entertain her 10-year-old

son. He became so enraptured when she read him poetry and explained about words and language, that it would become an influence on his writing for the rest of his life. Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Landmark’s E Street Cinema

(Spain, 2014, 98 min.) Sara — a biological mother — and Virginia — a foster mother — share a 9-year old daughter, Claire. During the summer holidays, Sara and Claire travel to Marseille in search of the biological father, whom Sara has not seen since she became pregnant. Former Residence of the Spanish Ambassador Tue., Sept. 27, 6:45 p.m.

itaLian Mia Madre Directed by Nanni Moretti (Italy/France/Germany, 2016, 106 min.) A harried film director tries to juggle the demands of her latest movie and a personal crisis as her beloved mother’s illness progresses, while her teenage daughter grows ever more distant (Italian, English and French). The Avalon Theatre

nOrWEgian In Order of Disappearance (Kraftidoten) Directed by Hans Petter Moland (Norway/Sweden, 2016, 116 min.) Mild-mannered Nils ploughs snow in the wild winter mountains of Norway, but when his son is mistakenly murdered, Nils takes action, igniting a war between the vegan gangster “the Count” and the Serbian mafia boss Papa (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, English, Serbian and German). Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., Sept. 2

POLish Demon Directed by Pawel Maslona and Marcin Wrona (Poland/Israel, 2016, 94 min.) Newly arrived from England to

Traces of Sandalwood (Rastros de Sándalo)

PHOTO: MAGNeT reLeASING

Stellan Skarsgård stars as a mild-mannered snow-plough driver who takes on the mob in “In Order of Disappearance.”

marry his fiancée, Peter has been given a gift of her family’s ramshackle country house in rural Poland. During the wild wedding reception, Peter begins to come undone, and a dybbuk, the iconic ancient figure from Jewish folklore, takes a toehold in this present-day celebration (Polish, English and Yiddish). Landmark’s Cinema Opens Fri., Sept. 16

(Spain, 2014, 66 min.) Going in depth into her father’s photo archive and diaries about his military service in the Sahara Spanish colony in 1964, Pilar spots the lost paradise where he always would try to come back. Former Residence of Spanish Ambassador Tue., Sept. 20, 6:45 p.m.

Gods (Bogowie)

Family Tour

Directed by Lukasz Palkowski (Poland, 2014, 120 min.) Despite the harsh realities of Communist Poland, cardiac surgeon Zbigniew Religa successfully leads a team of doctors to the country’s first human heart transplant in the 1980s. The Avalon Theatre

sPanish África 185 Directed by Pilar Monsell

Directed by Liliana Torres (Spain, 2013, 82 min.) After years out of the country, Lilly comes back home, where her mother, a person of exceptional eccentric simplicity, forces her to visit her relatives on a family tour of the abandoned landscape of her childhood — an experience that forces her to confront her own boundaries and frustrations. Spectrum Theatre Thu., Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m.

Ixcanul Directed by Jayro Bustamante (Guatemala/France, 2015, 93 min.) The brilliant debut by Guatemalan writer/director Jayro Bustamante is a hypnotically beautiful fusion of fact and fable, depicting a traditionbound indigenous Mayan family living on the slopes of an active volcano, where they earn a meager living as coffee-pickers. Maria is a beautiful 17year-old girl with dreams of seeing the larger world. Her parents arrange an advantageous marriage for her with the coffee plantation foreman, but Maria prefers her own choice: Pepe, a handsome young coffee cutter who plans to migrate to the United States. Maria seduces Pepe to run away with him, but after promises and clandestine meetings, Pepe takes off, leaving her pregnant, alone and in disgrace (Spanish and Maya). Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Marsella Directed by Belén Macías

Will & Jane

Diplomatic Spouses

CONTINUED • PAGe 36

CONTINUED • PAGe 33

(whose shirt he wore in the “lake swim” scene during the BBC miniseries is included in this exhibit). There is a certain kind of madness when an esteemed institution such as the Folger fondly reminisces about Mr. Darcy jumping into a lake and getting his shirt transparently wet for fans of “Pride and Prejudice.” Just how modern is Jane Austen? Her classic novel was yet again reimagined in this year’s horror flick “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” which did quite well at the box oﬃce. Like Austen and Shakespeare, Charles Dickens also had a unique capacity to create stories that leapt into the popular imagination, but Tiny Tim, Oliver Twist and even the autobiographical David Copperfield never bestowed celebrity status on Dickens, even though he toured to perform his work. Yet Hamlet, Macbeth, Elizabeth Ben-

“The U.S. and Ireland have a lot in common,” O’Hare said. “The White House was designed by Irish architect James Hoban, you had President [John F.] Kennedy and his family with strong Irish connections, you have Irish music and dance, and Irish names wherever you go.” The links run deep between Americans and the Irish, who immigrated to the U.S. in large waves in the 1800s and exerted their influence on the political system. Recently, O’Hare observed the U.S. election system firsthand when she attended the Democratic and Republican National Conventions over the summer. “I thought the conventions were fascinating — the rhetoric, the carnival atmosphere in the street,” she said. “I love [the TV show] ‘The West Wing.’ Seeing the White House is like seeing ‘The West Wing’ become reality.” While she has a natural aﬃnity for the U.S.

PHOTO: FOLGer SHAKeSPeAre LIbrArY

Gravestone etchings of the tombs of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen are among the myriad items in a new Folger exhibit.

net, Emma Woodhouse and a host of other legendary characters gave their creators a lasting voice, which continues to speak to us today. And there seems to be no stopping this popularity for generations to come. During a tour of “Will & Jane,” a girl visiting the exhibition was asked if she had read Austen’s novels, to which she replied yes. “I like the characters very much,” said the young girl, who couldn’t have been more than 10 years old. WD Gary Tischler is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

Directed by Maria Ripoll (Spain, 2014, 95 min.) Mina, a successful Hindi actress, can’t forget her baby sister Sita, from whom she was separated after her mother’s death. Thirty years later, she finds out that Sita is alive and well, living in Barcelona as a biologist with no memory of her past. National Museum of Women in the Arts Sun., Sept. 25, 3 p.m.

Vanuatu Tanna Directed by Martin Butler and Bentley Dean (Australia/Vanuatu, 2016, 100 min.) In the South Pacific, Wawa, a young girl from one of the last traditional tribes, falls in love with her chief’s grandson. When an intertribal war escalates, Wawa is unknowingly betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers run away, but are pursued by enemy warriors intent on killing them. Landmark’s Cinema Opens Fri., Sept. 30

Agnes O’Hare and her husband, european Union Ambassador David O’Sullivan, are pictured with their son Shane, who is training to become an anesthesiologist, and Kate, who recently completed her law degree at Georgetown.

and, of course, her native Ireland, O’Hare also feels a strong connection to the city where she raised a family and grew her business. “Ireland will always be home, but we have lived a full and happy life in Brussels for over 30 years.” WD Gail Scott is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMbEr 2016 | 39

WD | Culture | Events

Events Listings *Unless specific times are listed, please check the venue for times. Venue locations are subject to change.

ART Through Sept. 4

Stories of Migration: Contemporary Artists Interpret Diaspora In this juried and invitational exhibition, 44 artists share personal and universal stories of migration — from historic events that scattered communities across continents to today’s accounts of migrants and refugees adapting to a new homeland. The artists explore: historic events that scattered people and cultures across continents; today’s accounts of migrants from Syria, Latin America and Africa adapting to new homes; and personal experiences of family members. The exhibition will feature works by artists such as fashion designer Hussein Chalayan, Mexican-American fiber artist Consuelo Jiménez Underwood, French-Togolese artist William Adjété Wilson and American artists Faith Ringgold and Penny Mateer. The George Washington University Museum Textile Museum Through Sept. 5

ICEBERGS Designed by James Corner Field Operations, the installation opens as part of the annual “Summer Block Party” series. “ICEBERGS” is built from re-usable construction materials, such as scaffolding and polycarbonate paneling, a material commonly used in building greenhouses. The 20-inch-high “water line” allows panoramic views from high above the ocean surface and down below among the towering bergs. National Building Museum Sept. 6 to Oct. 23

It Takes a Nation: Art for Social Justice with Emory Douglas and the Black Panther Party, AFRICOBRA, and Contemporary Washington Artists This wide-ranging exhibit of political and visual content provides a cross-generational conversation of social justice in America. On display for the first time in D.C. is the art of Emory Douglas, the renowned radical sociopolitical artist who served as Minister of Culture and the primary artist and illustrator for the original Black Panther Party of the 1960s and 1970s. American University Museum at Katzen Arts Center Sept. 6 to Oct. 23

Todas las Manos This interdisciplinary public art project celebrates human rights and

global justice, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the murders of former Chilean Ambassador Orlando Letelier and co-worker Ronni Karpen Moffitt in D.C. on Sept. 21, 1976. Letelier and Karpen Moffitt were killed by a car bomb explosion. Muralist Francisco Letelier, son of Orlando Letelier, worked in collaboration with youth participants from the Latin American Youth Center to create a large-scale mural in the museum’s sculpture garden. American University Museum at Katzen Arts Center Sept. 7 to 27

Heritage in Danger: The Centro Scavi Torino and the Requalification of Iraqi Cultural Heritage The Italian Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi di Torino (CRAST), present a conference on Sept. 7 (6 p.m.) on CRAST’s work to preserve Iraq’s cultural heritage over the last 50 years, including its assistance in reopening the looted Iraq Museum in Baghdad in 2015. A related exhibition examines Italian efforts to rehabilitate works in the Iraq Museum to offer a window into the past of Mesopotamia and human history. Embassy of Italy Sept. 9 to 26

The Prismatic The Prismatic is an artist/designer collective that aims to exhibit the diversity of human conditions, like a prism refracting a single ray of light into different colors. There are largely two schools of practice within the group. Nina Cho, a sculptor and furniture/product designer; Yunjung Kang, an installation artist; Jin Kim, an object collector; and June Lee, a mixed media artist, embrace the human condition with their visual language of counterbalance, intimacy, subtlety and accumulation. On the other hand, graphic designer Hwan Jahng, ceramist Yunwook Mun and multimedia sculptor Yeonhee Kim make up the group of struggling loners, who mainly use the language of opposition. Korean Cultural Institute Through Sept. 11

William Merritt Chase: A Modern Master William Merritt Chase (18491916), a renowned figure in the international art circles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was a brilliant observer of contemporary life, an innovative painter and an influential teacher. Presented on the centennial of his death, this retrospective — the first in over three decades — will explore the interrelationships in Chase’s work across subject and media, from portraits and figurative paintings, to urban park scenes, domestic interiors, still lifes and landscapes. The Phillips Collection

40 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

Sept. 14 to Nov. 4

2,000 Miles: Divided Land, Common Humanity This exhibition aims to contribute to our ongoing conversation about walls, borders and people. Until recently, the idea of separating territories and peoples via manmade borders seemed an outdated relic from the past. Recent political developments, however, including the creation of new barriers at the European Union’s borders, have made such barriers a topic of heated debate. Germany’s own past in this regard serves as inspiration for two German artists, Daniel Schwarz and Stefan Falke, who take a close look at the geography and the cultural and social commonalities on the two sides of the U.S.-Mexican border. Goethe-Institut Through Sept. 16

Murals from a Great Canadian Train In 1953, Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) purchased 173 brand-new stainless steel rail cars from the Budd Company of Philadelphia. With the glass ceiling design in its Vista Dome cars, “The Canadian” became the quintessential crosscountry train experience. To highlight the natural beauty along the route and to promote tourism, CPR decided that Canada’s national and provincial parks should be the inspiration for the interior design of “The Canadian” rail cars. In 1954, the Royal Canadian Academy was asked to coordinate the selection of leading Canadian artists to paint murals for each of the 18 Vista Dome cars. The murals are of parks from every province and three are by members of Canada’s famed “Group of Seven” artists: A.Y. Jackson, A.J. Casson and Edwin Holgate. The Embassy of the Canada is delighted to showcase these murals and the everlasting beauty of Canada’s national and provincial parks. Embassy of Canada Art Gallery Through Sept. 17

The GM de Mexico Collection of Drawings and Graphic Art General Motors de Mexico and the Embassy of Mexico present this exhibit of 100 works on paper that highlight the evolution of Mexico’s artistic narrative during the 20th century through renowned Mexican and foreign-born artists, including Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Dr. Atl, Elizabeth Catlett, Pablo O’Higgins, Leonora Carrington, Roger Von Gunten and others. “The GM de Mexico Collection of Drawings and Graphic Art” was created in the late 1960s and provides a vast exploration of 20th-century Mexican art. Shown abroad for the first time since 1969, this exhibition is divided into five thematic segments that illuminate the evolution of Mexican art from

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016 muralism to modernity. Mexican Cultural Institute Sept. 17 to Dec. 11

Spirit of the Wild: Through the Eyes of Mattias Klum All life on earth is interconnected. Cities, societies and nations depend on healthy natural ecosystems to survive and prosper. Mattias Klum, one of the most important natural history photographer of our time, shares the stories of his journeys; from deep in the Artic to wild places like the Borneo rainforest, to the savannahs of Tanzania and the life under the sea. House of Sweden Sept. 17 to Dec. 11

Viktigt by Ingegerd Raman With love of craftsmanship and simplicity at the heart of it all, Viktigt pieces do their job in silence. Ingegerd Råman, the House of Sweden’s own designer, explores the craftsmanship behind her IKEA collection of glass, ceramic, bamboo and natural fibers. House of Sweden Sept. 17 to Dec. 11

Woodland Sweden Nature is prevalent everywhere in Sweden and there is a long tradition of using nature’s raw materials in the country’s built environment. Wooden architecture and design, in fact, are becoming a new Swedish export item. This exhibition shows the rapid development of Swedish innovative contemporary architecture and examines different aspects of construction work with wood. House of Sweden Sept. 17 to Feb. 12

Notes from the Desert: Photographs by Gauri Gill Since the late 1990s, Gauri Gill (born 1970) has been photographing marginalized communities in western Rajasthan, India. Featuring 57 of her prints, this exhibition showcases Gill’s work in the remote desert region and draws on her extensive archive. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Through Sept. 18

In Celebration of Paul Mellon Paul Mellon was one of America’s greatest art collectors and remains one of the gallery’s leading benefactors. Timed to coincide with the gallery’s 75th anniversary, a special exhibition features 80 of the finest pastels, watercolors, drawings, prints, and illustrated books selected from his donations. National Gallery of Art Through Sept. 18

Karel Appel: A Gesture of Color Karel Appel (1921-2006) is perhaps

the most renowned Dutch artist of the latter half of the 20th century and one of founding members of the avant-garde COBRA group. Marking the 10th anniversary of the artist’s death, this survey of 22 paintings and sculptures provides a fresh look at an oeuvre that goes beyond the 1950s, spanning more than 60 years. The Phillips Collection Through Sept. 18

Symbolic Cities: The World of Ahmed Mater Born in 1979 in southern Saudi Arabia and trained as a medical doctor, Ahmed Mater has been a practicing artist since the early 1990s, creating works that offer an unparalleled perspective on contemporary Saudi Arabia. Now based in Jeddah, Mater has focused primarily on photography and video since 2010. From abandoned desert cities to the extraordinary transformation of Mecca, “Symbolic Cities” presents his visual and aural journeys observing economic and urban change in Saudi Arabia. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Sept. 28 to Jan. 28

DeLIMITations This exhibit chronicles a 2,400 milelong, site-specific installation that traces the border between Mexico and the United States as it existed in 1821. In marking the short-lived historic boundary with a series of monuments that mimic those installed along the contemporary border, artists Marchos Ramírez Erre and David Taylor question the permanence of borders while recognizing the shared history and common interests between the two neighboring countries. Mexican Cultural Institute Sept. 30 to Jan. 8

NO MAN’S LAND: Women Artists from the Rubell Family Collection Born in 16 countries across five continents, 37 contemporary artists use their aesthetically diverse work to address varied political and intellectual themes. This exhibition centers on the process of making as well as on images of the female body — both topics that extend from the feminist art movement of the 1970s. National Museum of Women in the Arts Sept. 30 to Jan. 29

Los Angeles to New York: Dwan Gallery, 1959-1971 The remarkable career of gallerist and patron Virginia Dwan will be featured front and center for the first time in an exhibition of some 100 works, featuring highlights from Dwan’s promised gift of her extraordinary personal collection to

the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art Sept. 30 to March 5

Photography Reinvented: The Collection of Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker The collection of Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker brings together works of critically important artists who have changed the course of photography through their experimentation and conceptual scope. Especially rich in holdings of work by photographers of the famed Düsseldorf School, among them Struth, Candida Höfer, Andreas Gursky and Thomas Ruff, the collection also includes examples by photographers exploring the nature of the medium itself, such as Demand, Cindy Sherman and Vik Muniz. National Gallery of Art Through Oct. 2

Alison Saar in Print Alison Saar uses dynamic printmaking techniques to explore themes of feminine, racial and cultural identity. The artist’s hand-wrought woodcuts combine strong color and bold forms, while her central figures hold evocative objects — snakes, knives, fry pans, plants or bottles — that allude to a range of myth, lore and legend. National Museum of Women in the Arts Through Oct. 2

Hubert Robert, 1733-1808 One of the most prominent artists of his era, Hubert Robert loved and depicted ruined structures of all types, whether real or imagined, and not just those of ancient Rome (he lived in Italy for eleven years). He also drew inspiration from scenes he encountered in his native France, including urban renewal projects, Gallo-Roman antiquities and natural disasters. At the core of his success was his brilliance as a master of the architectural capriccio, in which random monuments from different locales were artfully brought together to create new, completely imaginary landscapes. National Gallery of Art Through Oct. 9

Muchedumbre: Photography by Jorge Brantmayer (Chile) “Muchedumbre” is a photographic project that investigates Chile’s post-dictatorship era, its transition to democracy, its economic boom and Chile’s current state of paradox. As the Chilean society begins to question an economic system centered on open markets and a growing disparity in wealth, more citizens are demanding a more equitable and just nation. This exhibit documents that process beginning in 2006 through 2015, and chronicles different public

WD | Culture | Events

demonstrations including marches for free education, gender equality and sexual diversity, as well as protests against environmental degradation, among others. Art Museum of the Americas Through Dec. 31

Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920-1945 The style that came to be known as art deco, which flourished from the 1920s to 1940s, was a vivid reflection of the modern era and the vitality of the machine age. Between the wars, as normalcy returned to politics, jazz music blossomed and the flapper redefined the modern woman, art deco left its mark on every form of visual art. This exhibit explores how the Japanese interpreted the style and transformed it through their own rich art and craft traditions. Hillwood Museum, Estate and Gardens Through Jan. 2

Intersections: Photographs and Videos from the National Gallery of Art and Corcoran Gallery of Art Nearly 700 photographs from Eadweard Muybridge’s groundbreaking publication “Animal Locomotion,” acquired by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1887, became the foundation for the institution’s early interest in photography. The Key Set of more than 1,600 works by Alfred Stieglitz, donated by Georgia O’Keeffe and the Alfred Stieglitz Estate, launched the photography collection at the National Gallery of Art in 1949. Inspired by these two seminal artists, Muybridge and Stieglitz, the exhibition brings together highlights of the recently merged collections of the Corcoran and the National Gallery of Art by a range of artists from the 1840s to today. National Gallery of Art Through Jan. 2

Recent Acquisitions of Dutch and Flemish Drawings “Recent Acquisitions of Dutch and Flemish Drawings” encompasses landscapes, seascapes, portraits, still lifes and history subjects that demonstrate the originality of Dutch and Flemish draftsmanship and its stylistic evolution. National Gallery of Art Through Jan. 7

#Opera Before Instagram: Portraits, 1890-1955 An exhibition opening next month at the Library of Congress will showcase photographs of early opera stars from a collection assembled by the late authority on opera Charles Jahant, in a format that will explore how Jahant might have used an Instagram account had he lived today. Library of Congress James Madison Building Through Jan. 29

Turquoise Mountain: Artists Transforming Afghanistan Decades of civil unrest nearly

destroyed Afghanistan’s vital artistic heritage. Over the past decade, Turquoise Mountain, an organization founded in 2006 at the request of the prince of Wales and the president of Afghanistan, has transformed the Murad Khani district of Old Kabul from slum conditions into a vibrant cultural and economic center. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

DANCE Sat., Sept. 3, 8 p.m.

Diamono (Roots) Diamono celebrates the people and cultures of the Casamance region in the West African nation of Senegal. Tickets are $25. GW Lisner Auditorium Fri., Sept. 30, 8 p.m.

The Washington Ballet Presents A Special Evening: 40th Anniversary Celebration For one night only, the Washington Ballet presents a special evening of works by Choo San Goh, Septime Webre as well as other favorites from TWB’s repertoire. Narrated by newly installed Artistic Director Julie Kent, the evening includes an emotional and inspirational look back at the people and creative works that have come to define the company throughout its 40-year history. Tickets are $40 to $500. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater Sept. 30 to Oct. 2

Step Afrika! Washington Performing Arts presents Step Afrika!, the D.C.based global ambassador of traditional stepping, which debuts a new and expanded production of its signature work, “The Migration,” based on American painter Jacob Lawrence’s iconic series (displayed at the Phillips Collection and at MoMA in New York). Please call for ticket information. University of District of Columbia Theater of the Arts

DISCUSSIONS Thu., Sept. 15, 6:30 p.m.

Spanish Fever: Authors in Conversation SPAIN arts & culture presents Spanish graphic novelists Santiago García, Javier Olivares, David Rubín, Ana Galvañ and José Domingo, some of the artists featured in “Spanish Fever: Stories by the New Spanish Cartoonists.” This anthology showcases the talents of a contemporary wave of Spanish comic authors and the quality of graphic novels emerging from a country with one of the strongest cartoon traditions in Europe. The Sept. 15-18 book tour will stop at SPX 2016 in Bethesda, Md., in addition to venues in D.C., Baltimore and New York. Former Residence of the Spanish Ambassador

HIGHLIGHT

Navrátilová: Czech Grand Slam T

his year’s Mutual Inspiraand ’90s music with DJ Tom tions Festival, hosted by from Prague at the Czech the Czech Embassy, honors Embassy on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. a living sports legend: Martina Other highlights include: Navrátilová. The Czech-American an exclusive sit-down tennis great took women’s tennis interview with Navrátilová to another level and inspired and the Washington Posts the world with her unsurpassed Petula Dvorak (Sept 12); the record of 59 Grand Slam titles, exhibition “Love Yourself,” including nine Wimbledon singles an intimate photography championships. She remains the and documentary project oldest winner of a Grand Slam that examines the personal title, male or female. philosophies and values Photo: Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0 Beyond her victories on the of various women living in court, Navrátilová has become different social environCzech tennis legend Martina Navrátilová is the focus of this an inspirational leader to rising ments and life situations year’s Mutual Inspirations Festival. (opens Sept. 22); a walk stars, athletes, women, breast cancer patients and minorities, against breast cancer (Oct. and she is an outspoken advocate for human 2); a discussion and workout with top local rights and healthy living. fitness pioneers (Oct. 4); the play “Protest,” which The annual festival, now in its seventh year, exposes life under a totalitarian regime (Sept. celebrates the mutual influence between Czech 28); and a variety of film and documentary and American cultures and the enormous screenings throughout the area. personalities who have shaped this connection. Previous festivals showcased figures such as LEARN MORE: filmmaker Miloš Forman, Czech President Václav For a complete schedule of events, visit Havel and writer Franz Kafka. www.mutualinspirations.org. This year’s festival, which runs Sept. 8 to Nov. 20, features a Grand Slam party of ’80s

early poetic masterworks, “Romeo & Juliet” follows two star-crossed lovers from love at first sight to eternal life hereafter. Please call for ticket information. Shakespeare Company Lansburgh Theatre Sept. 13 to Oct. 30

Sense and Sensibility Reason and passion collide in Jane Austen’s beloved tale of sisterhood and romance. When sudden financial straits force the Dashwood family to move to a distant cottage, sisters Elinor and Marianne become ensnared in heart-wrenching romances. Tickets are $30 to $75. Folger Theatre Through Sept. 18

Hand to God In a church basement in a small Texas town, the teens of a Christian puppetry ministry gather to bring the Word to the Flock. But one puppet takes on a foul-mouthed, demonic life of its own — unleashing the community’s barely repressed lust and rage. Tickets are $20 to $70. Studio Theatre Sept. 22 to Oct. 2

The Marriage of Figaro Wed., Sept. 21, 12 p.m.

Fri., Sept. 16, 12 p.m.

I Juana Live in America: An Immigrant’s (Creative) Journey

Maestro Soler: An Homage to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Award-winning illustrator Juana Medina will discuss her work and her artistic journey as a Colombian artist living in the United States. Medina is an illustrator and author for children’s books, as well as a teacher at George Washington University. Library of Congress James Madison Building

MUSIC Tue., Sept. 6, 6:45 p.m.

Tribute to Cervantes and Granados: Spanish Music by Duo Belcorde The Spanish Duo Belcorde — violinist Manuel Briega and guitarist Adrián Fernández — pays tribute to Cervantes and Granados with a concert program of works and masterpieces composed between the 17th and 20th centuries. Former Residence of Spanish Ambassador Fri., Sept. 9, 8 p.m.

Laylo Rikhsieva, Piano Laylo Rikhsieva, who was born in Uzbekistan and has performed in places ranging from Italy to Ohio to Germany, opens the Embassy Series 2016-17 season with a program of Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. Tickets are $25, including reception; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org. International Student House

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Maestro Soler wil present a guitar recital in honor of the 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building

THEATER Sept. 2 to 25

Report to an Academy Scena Theatre opens the company’s 30th anniversary season with Franz Kafka’s acclaimed “Report to an Academy,” an emotionally powerful drama that features Scena founder and Artistic Director Robert McNamara in a one-man play lasting 65 minutes. In the story, an African ape is captured and shipped abroad. To survive, “Red Peter” learns to imitate his captors and evolves to behave like a human. Ultimately, Peter presents his fascinating tale of transformation — and the horrid details of his former ape life — to a top scientific academy. Tickets are $30 and $35. Atlas Performing Arts Center Sept. 8 to Oct. 2

Cervantes: The Last Quixote GALA Hispanic Theatre enters its fifth decade by commemorating 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra with this world premiere. In this new play of mystery and intrigue, Cervantes has died in the street. A drunk insists that the man who killed him is the renowned poet

Lope de Vega. In Casanova’s tale, the same man recounts the secrets Cervantes shared with him, revealing the most tempestuous period in the great writer’s life and the unbridled creativity of his final years. Tickets are $40 and $45. GALA Hispanic Theatre Sept. 8 to Oct. 1

I Call My Brothers A car has exploded and a city has been crippled by fear, reeling from an act of terrorism. Amor wanders the city, doing his best to blend in. But what is normal behavior? And who is a potential perpetrator? Over 24 hours, Jonas Hassen Kemiri’s fierce, funny and explosive play — written in response to the Stockholm terrorist attacks of 2010 — explores where the lines between criminal and victim, and fantasy and reality, blur. Tickets start at $30. Silver Spring Black Box Theater Sept. 12 to Oct. 9

Collective Rage: A Play in Five Boops Five different women named Betty collide at the intersection of anger, sex and the “thea-tah” in awardwinning playwright Jen Silverman’s absurdist romantic comedy that is at once hysterical, inspired and boldly uncompromising. Tickets start at $35. Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Sept. 13 to Nov. 6

Romeo & Juliet The most famous love story in the world and one of Shakespeare’s

One of opera’s most enduring and beloved classics, Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” tells an upstairs/downstairs story of love, lust, seduction, infidelity and, ultimately, forgiveness, all set to some of the most sublime and memorable music ever written. Tickets are $25 to $315. Kennedy Center Opera House Sept. 23 to Oct. 30

The Little Foxes There are people who eat and there are those who get eaten. This fall, Arena Stage serves up Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes,” a delicious drama about family greed and betrayal. Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Marg Helgenberger stars as Regina Giddens, clawing her way to wealth with her equally calculating brothers. When their plan to control the local cotton mill is thwarted, they’ll turn to ever more devious schemes, even as it further divides their family. Tickets are $40 to $90. Arena Stage Sept. 28 to Oct. 30

Dante’s Inferno A lost traveler must navigate a treacherous journey through the nine circles of hell in search of spiritual redemption and his lost love. This revitalized, wordless version of Synetic’s emotionally charged production promises to be a wicked whirlwind of stunning visuals, hauntingly vivid original music, and powerful physicality. Tickets start at $35 (recommended for ages 16 and up for violence and partial nudity). Synetic Theater

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016 | 41

WD | Culture | Spotlight

Diplomatic Spotlight

September 2016

Ambassadors at National Conventions Hundreds of diplomats and foreign dignitaries converged on Cleveland and Philadelphia to witness the spectacle of U.S. politics firsthand over the summer. A week after business tycoon Donald Trump was chosen as the GOP presidential pick at the Republican National Convention at Ohio’s Quicken Loans Arena, the action shifted to Pennsylvania, where nearly 400 foreign leaders watched former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accept the Democratic nomination. Since 1984, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) has hosted foreign leaders to observe the Democratic National Convention. This year’s guests included current and former heads of government, ambassadors, cabinet ministers and leaders of political parties from over 100 countries. (All photos from the Democratic National Convention.)

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Ambassador of Lithuania Rolandas Kriščiūnas, right, poses with former Secretary of State and NDI Chairwoman Madeleine Albright.

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Balloons stream down at the Democratic National Convention.

Photo: Stacey Salter Moore, JPG Photography

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waves to the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Argentina Ambassador Martín Lousteau speaks with NDI Vice Chair Tom Daschle.

Photo: Stacey Salter Moore, JPG Photography

Citigroup’s Jay Collins, Ambassador of Ireland Anne Anderson and Global Head of International Relations for Google Ross LaJeunesse attend an NDI-Business Council for International Understanding reception.

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Ambassador of Kosovo Vlora Çitaku and Ambassador of Ukraine Valeriy Chaly.

Ambassador of Albania Floreta Faber and Deputy Chief of Protocol Mark Walsh.

Photo: Stacey Salter Moore, JPG Photography

Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) President and CEO Peter Tichansky talks with Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire Daouda Diabaté.

Photo: Stacey Salter Moore, JPG Photography

Ambassador of South Africa Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu and AIG President Carol Barton. Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean speak on an NDI campaign overview panel.

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Ambassador of Montenegro Srdjan Darmanovic stands outside the Wells Fargo Center.

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Former Obama environmental adviser Van Jones and Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post.

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Jon Keegan of the Wall Street Journal, Adam Sharp of Twitter and Crystal Patterson of Facebook discuss social media and the 2016 campaign.

Photo: Stacey Salter Moore, JPG Photography

Justin McCarthy and Ken Cole of Pfizer and Denton’s Jenifer Healy attend an NDI-Business Council for International Understanding event.

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Ambassador of Colombia Juan Carlos Pinzón, a guest, NDI President Kenneth Wollack, Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer at the Coca-Cola Co. Clyde Tuggle and Kate Irvin of Coca-Cola.

42 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016

Former Republican Party Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf, Elaine Kamarck of the Brookings Institution and former ABC News White House Correspondent Ann Compton speak on an NDI International Leaders Forum panel.

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and former Deputy Secretary of State William Burns listen to Laura Rosenberger, foreign policy advisor for Hillary Clinton.

Senior Policy Advisor for the Secure Partnerships Initiative at the Open Society Foundations Rose Jackson and Ambassador of Sri Lanka Prasad Kariyawasam.

Photo: Stacey Salter Moore, JPG Photography

Comcast’s David Cohen speaks to attendees at an NDI-Business Council for International Understanding program.

Photo: NDI / Jensensutta.com

NDI Chairwoman Madeleine Albright and NDI President Kenneth Wollack stand in Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park.

WD | Culture | Spotlight

Sahouri Hosts Military Attachés Sahouri Insurance, a Virginia-based insurance agency and financial services company established in 1970 that works with various embassies and foreign governments, hosted a farewell reception for Swiss Embassy Defense Attaché Peter Egger at the McLean home of CEO Fuad Sahouri. Egger, who came to Washington in 2009, was the dean of local military attachés and liaison to the Air Force Association.

Bastille Day at France Comité Tricolore hosted its 2016 Bastille Day celebration at the French Embassy on July 15. The festive event featured Bordeaux wine tastings, with a portion of the funds raised going to benefit a fund for the victims of the Nice terrorist attack. For more than 15 years, Comité Tricolore has been an instrumental cultural bridge between France and the United States, unifying the Franco-American community and helping those in need.

Retired U.S. Army Col. Joseph K. Smith and designer Rania Tabbah.

Defense Attaché at the Swiss Embassy Maj. Gen. Peter Egger; Franziska Egger; Fuad Sahouri of Sahouri Insurance; and Mary Sahouri.

Carnell Mosley of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Jeter Kedin and Wayne Wheeler. Photos: Michael Coleman Defense Attaché at the Czech Embassy Brig. Gen. Jiri Verner; Denisa Vernerova; Fuad Sahouri of Sahouri Insurance; Margarida Galrito; and Defense Attaché at the Portuguese Embassy Capt. José Galrito. Photos: Sahouri Insurance

Defense Attaché at the Belgian Embassy Brig. Gen. Johan Andries; Gudrun Andries Simon; Slavica Galić; and Defense Attaché at the Serbian Embassy Col. Dragan Galić.

Sophia Sahouri and Mary Sahouri of Sahouri Insurance, Leniita Staahlhammar and Defense Attaché at the Finnish Embassy Capt. Timo Staahlhammar.

Greg Abel, Nora Carrol and Jean Abel. Klaus von Grebmer of the International Food Policy Research Institute; Fuad Sahouri of Sahouri Insurance; Francesca von Grebmer; Corina Zellweger of the Foreign Service Institute; and Head of Communications and Public Diplomacy at the Swiss Embassy Andreas Ledergerber.

Klaus von Grebmer of the International Food Policy Research Institute; Franziska Egger; Francesca von Grebmer; Defense Attaché at the Swiss Embassy Maj. Gen. Peter Egger; Mona Dam; and Defense Attaché at the Danish Embassy Maj. Gen. Henrik Dam.

The Meridian International Center held its annual cocktail reception for the city’s social secretaries on July 7, with White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer in attendance, along with myriad embassy representatives. Meridian President and CEO Stuart Holliday said social secretaries have one of the most “underappreciated” and “misunderstood” jobs in Washington, even though they are at the “forefront of diplomacy.” Dyer noted that, “Even with all [the bad] going on in the world, social secretaries bring people together of all religions, ethnicities and backgrounds.”

Photo: Meridian International Center

Marcela Lepisova of the Embassy of Slovakia and Elisabeth Herndler of the Embassy of Luxembourg.

Defense Attaché at the Israeli Embassy Maj. Gen. Yaacov Ayish; Military Attaché at the Canadian Embassy Col. James Patrick Davis; Fuad Sahouri of Sahouri Insurance; and Defense Attaché at the Japanese Embassy Rear Adm. Yuki Sekiguchi.

Tess SaulerCooke of the Embassy of Fiji; Elisabeth Herndler of the Embassy of Luxembourg; Lystra Hinds of the Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago; Tamara Brunhart of the Embassy of Liechtenstein; and Ásdís Hreinsdóttir of the Embassy of Iceland.

Social Secretaries at Meridian

Meridian Trustee Michael Pickrum; former Social Secretary to President Bill Clinton Ann Stock; White House Social Secretary, Deesha Dyer; and Meridian President and CEO Stuart Holliday.

Lisa Ramsey, General Manager of the Capital Hilton David Piscola and Gordan Marr of the Washington Hilton Hotel.

Alicia Hammond of the World Bank and Catalina Quintero of the World Bank.

Sherri and Michael Keegan.

Jhett Epp of Northern Virginia Surgical Arts and Maureen Sinclair.

Mario Beltran, Beatrice Navarro and Dave Powers.

Photo: Meridian International Center

Kiyomi Buker of the Embassy of Japan, White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer and Sandra Pandit of the Embassy of Germany.

Sabrina and Jeff Porter and Michelle McGowan. THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | September 2016 | 43

Refugees CONTINUeD • PAGe 19

provide enough food for all the refugees, but they were overwhelmed. So they turned to local restaurateurs — including Vitsoroglou and, according to her, the Michelinstarred chef at Varoulko Seaside — and asked them to help. The chefs all agreed to do their bit. “I was cooking the whole winter — 100, 150 portions, as much as I could, which I gave to NGOs for distribution,” Vitsoroglou told The Washington Diplomat. “There were 1,800 portions given by restaurants during the winter every day. This stopped when the military started giving food to people. They told us there was no need for us to give food any more.” On a hot Wednesday evening in the middle of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the army-supplied iftar dinner comprised macaroni and cheese. Nader Hassan, a refugee from Aleppo who has been trying for months to be reunited with his son and sister in Germany, offered three portions of untouched army rations to a volunteer. In her restaurant oﬃce, Vitsoroglou said she had “heard from people in the port that they were not content, the food was not good and there were some cases of food poisoning because of bad storage.” So she and others again sprang into action. Vitsoroglou gave space on the rooftop of Rakadiko to a volunteer group from the U.K. Every day in June, the rooftop kitchen was cooled by large fans and a translucent tarp set up to soften the sting of the southeastern European sun. There, volunteers from Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, the U.K. and U.S. chopped onions, lettuce and tomatoes and put six dates into plastic bags for the refugees. “We make 1,500 wraps for refugees in the port every day,” Vitsoroglou said during a break from running the restaurant, which remained open to customers even as the volunteers busied themselves making meals for the refugees. “Every wrap we make has cucumber, tomatoes, carrots inside, and we make something like hummus or falafel or baba ganoush so they get something they like. “We’re trying to give them the vitamins they need because I heard that cases of scurvy were found in the port. As a doctor I haven’t heard of scurvy anywhere in Europe for the last two or three centuries, and hearing that scurvy has reappeared in Europe, in my country, is a real disaster.”

The wraps are handed out at the same time as the army rations. Hassan ate his wrap, but not the mac ‘n’ cheese. In northern Greece, refugees protested in the street outside their camp in a suburb of Thessaloniki after Greek police prevented volunteers from a Danish NGO from delivering fresh food to the camp. The refugees ended their protest when the police agreed to restore access to the camp for the NGO.

PrISONerS IN AN ASYLUM On the island of Leros, the “hotspot” — the suggestive name given to the centers set up at the request of the European Union to register thousands of refugees streaming into the country — is located on the grounds of the island’s still-functioning mental hospital. Refugees live in close proximity to patients at the hospital. Families with children, unaccompanied minors and the elderly are housed at Pikpa, set up decades ago as a school for children with severe learning disabilities and run today by volunteers from the Leros Solidarity Network (LSN), with support from Greek authorities and UNHCR. Bob Grove, a senior policy advisor to Mental Health Europe, described conditions at the mental institution and Pikpa after he visited Leros in 1987, six years after Greece joined the EU: “People in grey rags shuﬄing around wired compounds, naked men being fed by staff in gumboots … the naked women’s block with people strapped to beds, apparently comatose. The visit to Pikpa was, if anything, worse. There were three stories to the building and it was clear that no one ever left their section. The youngest children were confined to the top floor either naked or in pajamas, with those who were immobile in bed and many who could walk strapped to the beds to prevent them from doing so. Three meters above each child’s bed was a soft toy nailed to the wall.” In 1989, after articles were published in the British press and documentaries aired on British TV, Leros became an “internationally known scandal,” according to Grove. Today, Leros is once again in need of an urgent fix. Some 700 refugees are sheltering on the island. Their one wish seems to be to leave. “They don’t want to be here. They’re stuck here. They’re prisoners,” Anna Karanikola, a teacher on Leros and an LSN volunteer, told The Washington Diplomat. In July, the refugees’ frustrations boiled over into violence at the hotspot. It was a far cry from last year, when around 5,000 people arrived

44 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMbEr 2016

on the island aboard makeshift rafts and inflatable dinghies. Then, many of Leros’s residents — though not all — opened their homes and hearts to the refugees. “People were coming into our homes, having showers. They were sleeping in our beds, we were washing their clothes,” Karanikola recalled. “But there were some who were stirring up trouble. Restaurant owners were charging 10 euros to charge a phone or 5 euros for a sandwich. When the riots happened in the hotspot, some of the people who made a lot of money a year ago off the refugees’ misfortune were the same ones who were stoking the violence, beating up some of the refugees. “I don’t like to talk about it — I feel ashamed by it. It’s a very small minority,” she said. When UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, asked Karanikola if she would give the refugees English lessons, she didn’t hesitate to throw open the doors of her private language school and kindergarten. Today, around 30 refugees take language lessons at Karanikola’s school, and the UNHCR has extended her contract — an indication that the U.N. does not expect the situation in Greece to be resolved any time soon. But the warm welcome

from people like Karanikola, or the sheets and bedding at Pikpa, paid for by a local judge, are not enough to convince the refugees to stay on Leros. Some are lucky enough to have been relocated or reunited with family members already settled in another EU member state. Others simply try their luck and leave Leros for the Greek mainland. A Yazidi woman did just that days earlier, taking her four children and heading to Athens by ferry, Karanikola said. “I heard that they’re sleeping in the street. Many of the refugees think things will be better in Athens, but they’re not,” she said.

‘FOrTreSS eUrOPe’ Volunteers in Greece come from all walks of life. French volunteer Elsa Terenzani quit her job in Berlin to come to Greece and help refugees. Polish student Julia Slupska was a member of a debate club at the university in London where she is studying, when she came to the realization during a debate about refugees that instead of “talking about how bad refugees’ lives are, I could be doing something concrete about it.” So she packed her bags and headed to Greece. Some of the volunteers are staying days, some weeks and others indefinitely. The Khora NGO, founded by a

South Sudan CONTINUeD • PAGe 9

the guy who led the attack on the checkpoint … mobilized more forces and took them to the palace and wanted to force his way into the office to share to the world if Riek Machar was arrested or not. TWD: While the president and Machar were speaking? AKUONG: Having a meeting. And so the fighting started outside the palace and inside the palace. The forces of the president managed to contain the situation and the Riek Machar forces went back to their camp. The president also managed to save the life of Riek Machar for seven hours in his office. He sat in his office with Riek Machar. When there were demands from presidential guards that they wanted the head of Riek Machar because our people were killed because of him, the president said he cannot be killed. The president and the chief of staff mobilized enough forces and took [Machar] to his camp … and I think the president should be commended for doing that. TWD: Machar’s spokesman vehemently denies that his Facebook posting sparked an escalation in violence, claiming that opposition troops were instead initially attacked by Kiir’s soldiers on July 7. Then, on July 11, at Machar’s

group of young people from Britain, recently negotiated the lease on an eight-story building in Athens, which they are converting into a day center for “refugees and anyone who needs it,” Khora’s Tom Joseph said. The center will offer free food, legal support, education, sanitation and medical facilities to Greeks, Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis and others. The building sits well with many Greeks’ philosophy of treating refugees humanely. “I don’t think, ‘What are we going to do with these people?’ I just think they’re here, they’re people, they’re living with us,” said restaurateur Vitsoroglou. “With Greece’s situation, there are no jobs for these people. So we need to feed them, we need to give them schools, we need to make them feel just a little comfortable until maybe the borders will open.” The German volunteer working in the rooftop kitchen at Rakadiko said he gets the impression that the EU authorities are deliberately making the process of resettlement in Europe diﬃcult for refugees, even though, under an EU directive, refugees and other persons of concern have the right to family reunification. One time, he said, he was asked by a Norwegian NGO to urgently come to the Ger-

compound, there are photos of government helicopters and gunships. Over 300 people are estimated to have been killed. What was that about? AKUONG: I don’t know if 300 people were killed or not … nobody has the exact stats, but likely they could be soldiers because this time the government controlled the situation…. It was Riek Machar who killed civilians. Those Dinkas surrounding the camp that night were killed by the forces of Riek Machar. But even Nuers this time, they credit the president with protecting them. So the numbers that are being reported are mainly soldiers who have been killed on both sides. If there were civilians who were killed because of the crossfire, that is something else. TWD: You’ve told me that Riek Machar is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people. AKUONG: That is correct. TWD: There are tens of thousands of people dead, over 2 million displaced because of these two men, the president and Riek Machar, who are constantly at odds and endangering the lives of millions. In the five years that the country has been in existence, South Sudanese are constantly starving, the country is engulfed in turmoil. How is Salva Kiir not a failed leader? AKUONG: IIt is not something that you put squarely on the door of Salva

man Embassy to serve as a translator. “There was a young man there, who was already living in Germany. His wife had arrived in Greece with two young kids and she was pregnant. The problem is that the German Embassy here said that appointments for family reunification are only available by email and the next appointment was not until next February. If the man were to wait until then, his wife will have the baby in the camp. And the papers that he filled in to reunify the family will no longer be valid next February. “In Germany,” he added, “the [Berlin] Wall came down in 1989. Now, the EU is building a new one: Frontex, fortress Europe and security fences.” Hering, the Irish-American volunteer at Skaramangas, said, “The longer I’m here, the more I see how little is being done” to end the refugee crisis. “I’m a pretty positive, hopeful person and I always think things are getting better, and they are. But it’s such a painstakingly slow process and I don’t see the EU really contributing,” he said. “So how long is it going to take to resolve this? I think it’s going to be years.” WD Karin Zeitvogel (@Zeitvogel) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

Kiir and say he has failed. The country is not run by one man. What happened is a war, and in a war situation, you have victims of war. And Salva Kiir is one of the leaders that was elected by his people democratically…. So what we need now is stability in the country so that the life of the people returns to normal. [Kiir] has tried to reconcile with Riek Machar, he tried to reconcile the people of South Sudan and he brought in all the militias into the government…. What we need is the support for this leader so that we can go back to normalcy, and then we go back to elections so the people of South Sudan can have a free hand to choose whoever they want to lead them in the next years. TWD: Is South Sudan still on track to have elections by 2018? AKUONG: We should have elections in 2018, but now with the implementation of the peace agreement, delays and all this, I expect we will move beyond that. TWD: But the elections were supposed to be last year and they were put off because of the conflict. AKUONG: I don’t think you can hold elections in a place that is not peaceful…. We need to stabilize the country before we have elections. Even the rebels themselves wouldn’t go for elections in a country that is still having insecurity. WD James Cullum (@JamesCullum2) is a contributing writer and photographer for The Washington Diplomat.

WD | September 2016

Around the World World Holidays AFGHANISTAN

BENIN

CHILE

ERITREA

Sept. 9: Martyrs’ Day Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

ALGERIA Sept. 11: Aïd El Adha

Sept. 30: Botswana Day

Sept. 18: Independence Day Sept. 19: Armed Forces Day

ANDORRA

BRAZIL

Sept. 8: Patron Saint, National Holiday (Mare de Deu de Meritxell)

Sept. 7: Independence Day

ANGOLA Sept. 17: Nation’s Founder and National Heroes’ Day

ARMENIA Sept. 21: Independence Day

AZERBAIJAN Sept. 11: Gurban Bayramy

BAHRAIN Sept. 11: Eid al-Adha

BANGLADESH

BOTSWANA

BRUNEI Sept. 11: Eid El-Adha

BULGARIA Sept. 6: Reunification Day Sept. 22: Independence Day

BURKINA FASO

Sept. 15: Independence Day

CÔTE D’IVOIRE Sept. 11: Tabaski

CZECH REPUBLIC Sept. 28: Day of Czech Statehood

DJIBOUTI Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

Sept. 11: Tabaski

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

CAMBODIA

Sept. 24: Day of the Virgin of Mercedes

Sept. 24: Constitution and Coronation Day

EAST TIMOR

CAMEROON

Sept. 20: Liberation Day

Sept. 11: Eid-ul Azha

Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

BELIZE

CANADA

Sept. 10: St. George’s Caye Day Sept. 21: Independence Day

COSTA RICA

Sept. 7: Labor Day

CHAD Sept. 11: Aïd al-Adha

EGYPT Sept. 11: Eid El Adha

EL SALVADOR Sept. 15: Independence Day

Subsidies Continued • page 18

profit opposed to reliance on fossil fuels. The World Bank also has been caught on both sides of the controversy, with President Jim Yong Kim calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies even though the World Bank has increased its funding of fossil fuel projects in recent years, including $2 billion in financing last fiscal year for oil, gas and coal projects. “Despite all the big words and rhetoric from these big institutions, the real situation is often different,” Doukas said. On the flip side, the World Bank also is a partner in the Climate Investment Funds, which has pledged $780 million in financing to scale up renewable energy in developing countries. These contradictions also hit closer to home. While the Obama administration has pushed to reduce fossil fuel subsidies, Congress supports those subsidies that profit oil and gas companies and cost taxpayers $20 billion a year. One subsidy allows companies to claim deductions for oil spills. Even though a federal judge found BP grossly negligent for the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion — the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history — BP still claimed a $9.9 billion tax deduction in 2010 for its

ETHIOPIA Sept. 11: Ethiopian New Year Sept. 11: Meskel

GUATEMALA Sept. 15: Independence Day

GUINEA Sept. 28: Referendum Day

GUINEA-BISSAU Sept. 24: Independence Day

HONDURAS Sept. 15: Independence Day

INDIA Sept. 11: Idu’z Zuha

MALI

NIGER

SAUDI ARABIA

TANZANIA

Sept. 22: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic

Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

Sept. 11: Eid al-Adha

Sept. 11: Eid El Hadj

NIGERIA

SENEGAL

Sept. 23: National Day

Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

TRINIDAD and TOBAGO

Sept. 8: Our Lady of Victories Sept. 21: Independence Day

OMAN

SINGAPORE

Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

Sept. 11: Hari Raya Haji

PAKISTAN

SLOVAKIA

MARSHALL ISLANDS

Sept. 11: Eid-ul Azha

Sept. 11: Eid al-Adha

Sept. 1: Workers’ Day Sept. 30: Customs Day

PALAU Sept. 5: Labor Day

Sept. 1: Slovak Constitution Day Sept. 15: Lady of Sorrows Day

LIBYA

MAURITANIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

SOUTH AFRICA

the Aged Day (Keirou no hi) Sept. 23: Autumnal Equinox (Shuubun no hi)

MALTA

JORDAN Sept. 11: Eid Al-Adha

KUWAIT Sept. 11: Eid Al-Adha

LEBANON

Sept. 1: National Day Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

LIECHTENSTEIN

Sept. 16: Mexican Independence Day of 1810

Sept. 8: Nativity of Our Lady

LUXEMBOURG Sept. 3: Luxembourg City Fete

INDONESIA

MACEDONIA

Sept. 11: Idul Adha

Sept. 8: Independence Day

IRAN Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

MALAYSIA

JAPAN

Sept. 11: Hari Raya Haji Sept. 16: Malaysia Day

Sept. 21: Respect for

reported $32 billion in clean-up costs after the accident, which killed 11 workers and polluted the Gulf of Mexico with more than 200 million gallons of oil. Through an unrelated tax break, BP may claim more than $15 billion in tax deductions for its $20 billion settlement with the Justice Department for environmental and clean-up damages, resulting in an unusual situation where the federal government may end up paying most of the settlement in a lawsuit that it won. Oil and gas companies and trade groups have spent millions on lobbying and campaign contributions to mostly Republican legislators in Congress to preserve fossil fuel subsidies. The American Petroleum Institute (API), the largest oil and gas trade association, which merged with the National Gas Alliance, spent almost $8 million last year lobbying Congress. Many Senate Republicans who received API campaign contributions helped block Democraticled bills to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. In February, Republicans killed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz (DHawaii) that would have phased out some fossil fuel subsidies over a four-year period on the same schedule as the phasing out of tax credits for wind energy that had expired. Many fossil fuel subsidies are almost a century old and are permanent sections of the tax code, while renewable energy sub-

MEXICO

MOROCCO Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

MOZAMBIQUE Sept. 7: Victory Day Sept. 25: Armed Forces Day

NICARAGUA Sept. 14: Battle of San Jacinto Sept. 15: Independence Day

Sept. 24: Republic Day

TUNISIA Sept. 11: Aïd El Idha

TURKEY Sept. 11: Kurban Bayram

UGANDA Sept. 11: Iddi Adhuha

Sept. 16: Independence Day

Sept. 24: Heritage Day

PARAGUAY

Sept. 11: Id-Ul-Allah

Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

Sept. 29: Battle of Boquerón

SUDAN

UZBEKISTAN

SRI LANKA

Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

QATAR Sept. 3: Independence Day Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

SWAZILAND

RWANDA

SYRIA

Sept. 25: Kamarampaka Day

Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

ST. KITTS and NEVIS

Sept. 9: Independence Day Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

Sept. 19: Independence Day

Photo: Herry Lawford from London, UK - MongoliaUploaded by Zolo / CC BY 2.0

A coal mine is seen in Hailar, China. The elimination of fossil fuel subsidies in China, which is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, raises internal energy security concerns.

sidies often are temporary, creating partisan battles when they need to be renewed, said Lukas Ross, a climate and energy campaigner at the environmental nonprofit Friends of the Earth. “We continue to emit carbon into the atmosphere without pricing the cost this is inflicting on present and future generations,” he said. “That’s not just a subsidy. It’s in effect climate change denial that is being embedded in our political and economic system.” API also has spent vast sums lobbying the public through ads on energy issues, attack ads against Democratic candidates and other public relations efforts. From 2008 to 2012, API paid more than $327 million to one public relations firm, according to an investigation by the Center for Public In-

Sept. 6: Somhlolo Day (Independence Day)

TAJIKISTAN

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Sept. 1: Independence Day Sept. 11: Eid Al Adha

VIETNAM Sept. 2: Vietnamese National Day

YEMEN Sept. 11: Eid Aludha Almubarak Sept. 26: September Revolution Anniversary (1962)

tegrity. API claims on its website that the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies would amount to harmful tax increases that would “discourage oil and natural gas production, lead to fewer well-paying American jobs, increase our reliance on foreign imports and potentially contribute to higher energy costs for consumers.” An API spokesman didn’t respond to several requests for comment. However, independent reports have undermined many of those claims. A study by Joseph Aldy, a Harvard University associate professor and former White House energy policy advisor, found the elimination of subsidies would have a negligible impact on U.S. oil and gas production, which is more closely linked to technological advances and the price of oil. Since 2014, U.S. oil and gas companies have eliminated more than 100,000 jobs as the price of oil plummeted, even though they were still receiving subsidies. Despite large oil reserves and low prices, some companies are still ramping up production to generate profits for stockholders, even though that strategy could keep oil prices low. ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, reported that fourth-quarter earnings had fallen 58 percent last year to the lowest quarter earnings since 2002. Exxon has shed one-fifth of its workforce over the past See subsidies • page 47

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Subsidies CONTINUeD â€˘ PAGe 45

five years, yet the company is still boosting oil production by nearly 5 percent. Another report released last month by the Council on Foreign Relations found that fossil fuel subsidies donâ€™t â€œdirectly and materially improve U.S. energy security or mitigate climate change.â€? The elimination of the three largest oil and gas tax breaks could save the federal government more than $4

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billion per year and â€œcould enhance U.S. influence to advocate for international climate action,â€? the report stated. Across the world, fossil fuel subsidies may include direct government spending, tax breaks, investments by state-owned enterprises or public financing from governmentcontrolled banks. While most U.S. subsidies boost the profits of private companies through tax breaks, many countries, such as Saudi Arabia, subsidize the price of fuel for their own residents because itâ€™s politically popular, but those subsidies increase fuel consumption because gas is so cheap. â€œIf you donâ€™t follow

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market signals, then you donâ€™t follow supply and demand,â€? Sivaram said. â€œYou use more fuel and contribute to more carbon emissions.â€? The drastic drop in oil prices has provided an opportunity to curtail some of those subsidies without creating a public backlash, Sivaram said. The price of oil plummeted from more than $110 per barrel in 2014 to a low of $27 per barrel earlier this year before increasing slowly to $45 per barrel last month. Several countries, including India, Indonesia, Egypt and the UAE, have reduced or eliminated some consumer-based subsidies, but that situation could change if

oil prices rise and politicians face protests over high fuel costs, Sivaram said. In 2012, Indonesia spent one-fifth of its federal budget on fossil fuel subsidies, more than three times government spending on infrastructure projects or health programs. Since oil prices have dropped, Indonesia has become a leader in reducing fossil fuel subsidies, with an expected savings of $18 billion per year that will help reduce deficits and increase spending on infrastructure and social services. Despite the enormous cost of fossil fuel subsidies, there hasnâ€™t been a groundswell of opposition

by the American public, but that might change if more people are informed about the issue and realize the damaging impact of those subsidies on both government budgets and climate change, Doukas said. â€œEven though the price and cost of renewable energy is going down, that progress is being undermined by the huge amount going to fossil fuel subsidies,â€? Doukas said. â€œThese are handouts that go to the most polluting and most profitable companies on the planet.â€? WD Brendan L. Smith (www.brendanlsmith.com) is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | SEPTEMbEr 2016 | 47

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