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| Port of Call-Amsterdam,the Netherlands-June 19th and 20th |
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| The Central Train Station, old history architecture, filled with a new world diversity of people |
Green, flat land on either side, a large part of which is below sea-level, welcomed us to the Netherlands. It took us a couple of hours to sail up the canal to Amsterdam, a good chance for participants to see the country-side before docking in the city of unique repute. This was Peace Boat's first ever stop in the Netherlands, to see a society where on one side of the tracks traditionally illegal (by Western standards) practices of prostitution and limited drug use have an accepted place in society, while on the other side, the forefront of international law is practiced at the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, both of which were subjects of Peace Boat study tours. Yet while Amsterdam is known to have a festive atmosphere to say the least, with the help of local NGO's and special guests a rather lively event was held onboard in the name of sustainability, the environment and peace. |
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| Sustainable style, multifunctional design at its best |
While representatives of local environmental NGO's
shared discussed environmental issues and sustainability with Peace
Boat representatives in the lounge below, a small army of fashion
designers, technicians, models and Peace Boat participants prepared
for the highlight of the night, a fashion show put on by Jacques Volckmann
and Pim Kramer, designers of the label UNIC` PS (Unique Peace), on
the deck above. The philosophy behind UNICPS is to transform recycled
textiles into unique pieces of clothing as a means of promoting and
practicing sustainability of lifestyle and environment. In a show
entitled CREATE compassion,professional models and daring Peace Boat
participants put on the stylish wares and walked the walk in an exciting
show, the likes of which Peace Boat has never before seen. |
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| Peace Boat staff Chu-son in Korean traditional dress and Mocchan in Japanese traditional dress, two different sides making one beautiful dance together
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Following the fashion show and performances by the SPACE dance team, a Korean-Japanese dance and other cultural demonstrations for our guest audience, attention turned to the onboard and in port landmine campaign. Our main guest was Haoon Ayub Khan, a landmine expert from the Netherlands Organization for International Development Co-operation (www.novib.nl), the main sponsor of OMAR, the Afghanistan-based NGO with which Peace Boat is raising money for mine-clearing and preparation of a football field. Ending the night in a festive mood while a beautiful sunset lit the sky was famous Dutch DJ Bone-G putting on a solid dance party on the Neptune deck. |
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| No cameras allowed inside, but to see the building inside of which justice comes to those who deserve it |
Although Amsterdam is a town great for staying out late, painfully early the next morning about twenty English speakers from Peace Boat set out for den Haag, where is being held the trial of former Serbian President Milosevic and others at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. While the concept of establishing international legal regimes has existed for decades, it was quite an experience to see with our own eyes international law being practiced. Our plan had been to see Milosevic himself in trial, he was unfortunately out with the flu and we watched instead 30 minutes of witness examination in the trial of Momir Talic, the man held responsible for the three year siege of Sarajevo. Peace Boat guest Nenard Fiser, an information analyst for the prosecutor's office, gave us an inside tour of the tribunal and after our viewing session in a viewing room separated from the court room by a large glass wall we were given a briefing about the tribunal and the case we watched. On one hand, our experience left us with the thought that the tribunal is at the beginning of a learning process of how to administer international law that may take decades of practice to perfect, yet playing an extremely real and important role in the healing of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. On the other hand, to see with our own eyes what is otherwise in most people's minds a concept embodied in complicated treaties helped us to understand the concrete reality working today. |
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| Sunset, and the canals and dikes which keep the Netherlands from drowning |
After a final few hours to survey the area around
Amsterdam's central train station and port terminal, dodging intermittent
rain and chill Peace Boat participants piled back onboard for the
three hour sail through the canal to sea. In Peace Boat's philosophy
of introducing people personally to the issues we study and people
working with those issues, our visit to Amsterdam showed us a few
things even we wouldn't usually see a professional fashion show dedicated
to sustainability and the environment, a social system that takes
an unconventional approach to dealing with drugs and prostitution
and the leading manifestations of what countries generally agree to
be international justice. By the time we left the canal, the late
evening sun was setting, seagulls flocking around the ship and a bitter
chill was in the wind. |
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| Peace Boat's
37th Voyage |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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