An Austrian Tragedy

The following story of a 42-year-old woman held prisoner and repeatedly raped by her father for the past 24 years has shaken the core of a serene Austrian nation. The tragedy is being portrayed by the media as a symptom of national illness. The newspaper Die Presse asks: "How can it happen here?". Der Standard writes: "An entire nation must ask itself what is going so wrong." The questions do not only pertain to Austria, of course. The town of Amstetten, where the woman was held, is another quiet, "ordinary" town so typical of horrendous incidents such as the school and neighborhood shootings in the US and all over the world. The citizens of Amstetten will have to answer many uncomfortable questions in the coming months, among them the question of how could a community be so fundamentally broken as to not look after the well-being of its own members? After all, twenty-four years is an awfully long time to not ask any questions.

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Austrian woman says father held her in cellar for 24 years

By VERONIKA OLEKSYN

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Police have found a woman missing since 1984, who told authorities that her father had kept her in a cellar for almost 24 years and that she had given birth to at least six children after being repeatedly raped by him.

The 73-year-old father was taken into custody, said Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs, on Sunday.

Authorities found the woman Saturday evening in the town of Amstetten following a tip, Lower Austria police said in a statement.

The 42-year-old woman told police that her father began sexually abusing her when she was 11 and locked her in a room in the cellar on Aug. 28, 1984.

During the 24 years that followed, she said she was continually abused and gave birth to six children, the statement said. She said she gave birth to twins in 1996 but one died several days later; police said they were investigating.

Police said in the statement the woman appeared "greatly disturbed" psychologically during questioning. She agreed to talk only after authorities assured her that she would no longer have to have contact with her father and that her children would be taken care of.

DNA tests are expected to determine whether the man is the father of the six surviving children, according to police.

Police said three of the children were registered with authorities and lived with the grandparents. The other three children were apparently held captive in the cellar with their mother, Polzer told reporters in broadcast remarks.

The Austria Press Agency said the three boys and three girls range in age from 5 and 20. One of the children, a 19-year-old woman, was being hospitalized in very serious condition, according to Austrian broadcaster ORF.

Sunday's developments recalled another case that shocked Austrians in the summer of 2006, when a young woman escaped after being largely confined to a tiny underground dungeon in a quiet Vienna suburb for more than eight years.

Natascha Kampusch was 10 years old when she was kidnapped in Vienna on her way to school in March 1998. Her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil, threw himself in front of a train just hours after her dramatic escape.

I hate being sick

... but at least the Austrian healthcare system makes it a little easier.

I woke up Tuesday morning to what I thought was just a little congestion. By the time I arrived at school and gathered my teaching materials, I felt as if a wave of exhaustion had hit me. I was not only congested, but also weak, dizzy, and a bit feverish; I knew I wouldn’t be able to go through with the day’s lessons. I went to find my main teacher, “Betreuungslehrerin”, to tell her I needed to cancel my lessons. She took one look at me and before I could even get the words out of my mouth, sent me “straight to bed”. I would have called out sick in the first place, if I felt as sick when I woke up that morning as I did when I arrived at school. I quickly found the other teachers with whom I had lessons that day and told them I was very sorry, I had to cancel the day’s lesson. They were all understanding and wished me a “gute Besserung”.

About half an hour later, I was back in my apartment and went straight to bed. I slept about 30 hours straight, only waking up a few times when the apartment was too warm or too cool. I slept off and on all day Wednesday and most of the day Thursday. Thursday afternoon I finally summoned enough energy to go to the doctor.

Since I don’t have a designated doctor, I turned to the city’s medical directory—an online database of all the doctors in Vienna. I searched to find which doctors in my district had office hours that afternoon and I chose the closest one. When I arrived at the office, there were four people ahead of me, none of whom had appointments. I waited 30 minutes for my turn, which is not long, considering the one doctor was running the entire office for the day without any secretarial staff. Even though I had never been to this doctor before, I didn’t have to fill out any medical paperwork. I simply told the doctor my address and handed her my ecard, which functions as the state insurance card in Austria.



She scanned the card and with the help of the embedded memory chip, was able to read all of my Austrian medical history (which is not much). She then asked me what was wrong, took my temperature, and took a look at my ears and throat. After ruling out any sort of infection, she gave me a prescription for a nasal decongestant, another prescription for an Austrian version of Tylenol (which you can’t buy over the counter), and an extra prescription for Penicillin, in case the congestion I have now were to develop into a full-blown infection.

I thanked the doctor, left the office, and went to the pharmacist (literally, the apothecary, or “Apotheke”). The pharmacist filled the prescriptions for the decongestant and pain reliever/fever reducer and I kept the extra prescription for the Penicillin. The two medicines together cost me 3 Euros (5 Dollars). Not bad.

After the pharmacy, I went back to my apartment and back to bed. Going to the doctor was tiring work! I slept for the rest of the day and most of the weekend, though I did do a little reading and research on Sunday.

Now as I write this entry a week later, I feel much better and am one Austrian experience wiser. It’s time to go out and enjoy the sunshine!

Life & Politics: It's all Relative.

It was very strange yesterday for me to be reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting, where one of my former classmates lost his life, and not hear a single remark made about the incident outside of the daily news. Granted, I wasn’t around any Americans yesterday, so perhaps other English-language teaching assistants or American Fulbrighters were talking about the incident and its aftermath, but I wasn’t around them to hear such conversations, if they even did take place.

From the English lesson I taught earlier this year on gun violence and the 2nd Amendment, I know that most students (ages 12-18) have heard of Columbine and similar incidents in Scotland, Germany, and Sweden, but they never heard of Virginia Tech. Nor have the teachers. The Austrian media mentioned the anniversary, but just barely, focusing instead on the $11 million settlement for the victims’ families.

In a sense, the anniversary was chalked up to the anniversary of “just another American school shooting”—a tragic event, of course, but one that has no real impact on the common Austrian citizen.

Or perhaps the downplaying of Virginia Tech had more to do with the immediate spectacle known as the Italian elections, where “low” voter turnout was marked at 80 percent. Sunday night into Monday morning, there was an audible buzz of chatter throughout the entire city of Vienna as people speculated about the outcome of the Italian elections: Would (Could) the Italians really elect Berlusconi for a third time? Monday morning, everyone had their answers: yes, the Italians did elect Berlusconi, for a third time. Now people are busy predicting what new havoc this new-but-old prime minister can possibly wreak on Italy and on the rest of the world.

We’re talking here about the third richest man in Italy, a total media magnate, and the previous head of a center-right party (with post-neofascist tendencies) that he created! Does this man remind anyone else of Austria’s own Jörg Haider? In the past few days, media outlets from all over the world have already been reporting Berlusconi’s derogatory comments, ranging from immigration to Spanish women to the monetary policy of the European Central Bank. It makes one wonder how such comments will translate into new policies and regulations. Today Berlusconi announced that Italy will nominate a new EU Commissioner; there will certainly be a slew of other nominations forthcoming.

Just as Bush is leaving office in the U.S., Berlusconi is rising to power (again) in Italy. The eyes of the world are watching. It may take significant effort in the coming years to keep Italy running as the democratic republic it claims to be.

Yahoo

Yahoo Mail is really annoying me … well, more than usual. They continue to send me messages about how I should upgrade from my “classic” account to the “new and improved(!)” Yahoo Mail, which is not only extremely ugly but also runs horribly on my computer. Forget that.

Onto Annoyance #2: Half the time I log into my mail account, the little sponsored advertisement on the side is for a U.S. Green Card! Since when did for-profit companies start selling green cards?! It’s interesting that Yahoo assumes that just because I am in another country, I must not be a U.S. citizen and therefore I must want to come to the U.S. I hate to burst your bubble, Yahoo, but U.S. citizens live all over the world and not all non-U.S. citizens necessarily want to come to the U.S.

It surprises me to see advertising in such poor taste coming from a company that has translated its web services into (at least) 36 different languages. There’s Yahoo Germany, Yahoo Russia, Yahoo Brazil—even Québec has its own Yahoo homepage!—yet I haven’t received a single ad about purchasing visas for any of these countries, let alone purchasing anything from any country besides the U.S.

I think it’s time for a friendly consumer letter to the oh-so-globally-aware advertising department at Yahoo. Are they really paying attention to what messages their advertisers are conveying? Do they care?

Lesson Plan Tangents

I haven't really been homesick yet, but certain things do remind me of home. I was preparing a lesson on San Francisco tonight for a class of thirteen-year-olds. In the process of creating a photo collage, I found images online of the Victorian houses on Haight-Ashbury, a Ben & Jerry's cafe, Chinatown, a Mexican taqueria in the Mission District, Tandem bikes, the Pacific Ocean, and who knows what else I am forgetting. Not all of these things remind me necessarily of Pennsylvania, but they do remind me of the US and of times spent outside of Austria. Each one of these references highlights certain differences, and occasional similarities, between the two countries.

1. Victorian homes: There are no Victorian buildings in Vienna. Buildings either date back to the 16th, 17th, 18th centuries--if not earlier--or were built post-WWII. Architecture exists on a completely different timeline here and incorporates completely different styles.

2. Ben & Jerry's: I'm not complaining about the Italian gelato that is served all over the city --it's absolutely delicious, cheap, and generally isn't sold in the States--but I can just imagine the confused look on the waiter's face if I were to ask for a flavor as exotic as Phish Food or Chunky Monkey here ... I might as well ask for water ice, too.

3. Chinatown: I actually did manage to find a decent Chinese restaurant in the university district, but I still miss the flair of Chinatown. I was once told that Austria didn't segregate its ethnic minorities into communities, like Chinatown or Little Italy. I guess they forgot about the Turks. By the way, the Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisine is amazing here. I will definitely miss the Döner and falafel stands on every corner.

4. Mexican food: I still haven't found real Mexican food in Austria. I found a restaurant that has an excellent reputation, but in my opinion, serves mediocre Mexican food. The dishes are generally too sweet. I'm not sure why Austrians feel the need to add sugar and butter to everything they make.

5. Tandem bikes: Okay, you only really see these on the boardwalk in the US, but you don't see them anywhere in Austria. That said, you do see a lot of unicycles and Razr scooters here, probably due to their compactness and portability.

6. Ocean: There is no ocean here; Austria is a landlocked country. The Donauinsel is the closest thing Austria has to a beach, and it's really just a park on an island, surrounded by a river that is much too polluted for swimming.

After preparing my lesson on San Francisco, I finished the night by going to see a modern dance performance by the Nature Theater of Oklahoma. True to its name, the group originates from Oklahoma and is currently touring performing arts festivals around the world. I nearly jumped in my seat when I heard one of the female members speak; I knew that the performance would be in English, but I forgot that the performers would have midwestern accents -- that was a bonus!

From midwestern accents to memories of summers on the beach, this day of reminiscing must be viewed in perspective. While I may miss some things from the US, I know I will miss other Austrian things when I am back home. On my way back from all of my travels today, I passed an oompapa band from the Steiermark (southeastern Austria). The band consisted of five men playing the flugelhorn, trumpet, clarinet, accordion, and a drum set. They pleased the crowd with a repertoire of polka and waltz tunes and were of course dressed in their best Lederhosen and traditional Tracht outfits. I barely even blink when I see someone in Lederhosen or a Dirndl anymore; Tracht has actually enjoyed a mild revival in the last few years. If I were in the US and saw people dressed like this somewhere other than a German/Austrian club, I might check to make sure I was in the right country! Then I would reminisce about that time I was in Austria.

Sunday in Vienna

Today I took the train to the Donauinsel, or "Danube Island", and spent the afternoon biking along the Danube River. The island is used mainly for summer festivals, picnicking, and biking. It's also a favorite spot for kite-flying and today there was quite a crowd.

A Night in Gulu: Uganda's Own Refugee Camps

The following article was published in September 2006 by the UN’s humanitarian affairs office, IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks). In the year between publication and my visit last year to similar camps in a nearby town, not much had changed. The women still had to wait in line at the water kiosks, sanitation was virtually non-existent, and any serious form of schooling was out of the question. People have been living in these internal displacement camps for years and it doesn’t look like they are going home any time soon.

OPIT, GULU, 11 Sep 2006 (IRIN) - The bonfire cast the shadows of dozens of people against the walls of mud and wattle huts in the sprawling internally displaced persons' (IDPs) camp.

"The bonfire was the place where elders, the youth and women met to discuss solutions to problems facing the community," Milton Munu, an elder at Opit IDP camp in northern Uganda's Gulu District told the gathering. "But similar meetings were last held here 20 years ago. Because of insecurity, meetings around the bonfire that used to help the community close ranks have not been held since."

Another elder, Korina Odur, who broke down in the middle of her contribution, said bonfire meetings were the principal medium for informal education, where children were taught good behaviour and girls how to run homes. "For 20 years we have been denied this tool," she said.

Before inviting Jan Egeland, the [former] United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, to address the meeting on Saturday, Munu narrated the history of Opit camp, 32 km southeast of Gulu town. The camp had been attacked 11 times by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) before the Ugandan army deployed a permanent unit to guard it.

"We want to help you go home when you think it is safe to go," Egeland said. "We are seeking your views on what the international community can do to help."

The UN official had earlier arrived at the camp without much fanfare. Some IDPs were surprised when he announced that he wanted to spend the night with them - becoming the first senior UN official to sleep at an IDP camp in the region battered by years of conflict.

Hordes of children, some barely dressed, followed Egeland as he toured the camp before dusk, walking carefully through the myriad huts and past rubbish that showed how dire the sanitation is in Opit.

Many demands

At the bonfire, the IDPs talked about the desire to return home, but many things were needed to facilitate the journey to their villages - for most, the first time home in years.

"There is no water. We need some food to go with, ox-ploughs and iron sheeting. The government should adequately deploy the police at every sub-county..." The list was long.

The main issue, however, was the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the northern Uganda peace process. The court has indicted LRA commanders, including its leader Joseph Kony - a decision local people said could jeopardise the ongoing talks in the southern Sudanese town of Juba.

The talks have been enhanced by the promise of an amnesty to the rebels made by the Ugandan government if the rebels agree to a peace deal in Juba.

"The international community should tell the ICC that the people of Opit don't want their involvement because they are just holding back the peace process," Nixon Winy said, prompting Egeland to ask what should be done to those who have committed crimes against humanity.

One of the elders replied: "The amount of death in Acholi should not be equated to the pursuing of five LRA commanders," adding that the Acholi people had a system that was capable of delivering justice in the region.

Story time

Forty minutes into the debate, the meeting turned to one of the last items - stories that teach the children about society.

Egeland told one about a mouse that saved a lion from a hunter's snare. The lion had threatened to devour the rodent, which had promised to help the lion if it were spared. "However powerful you are, we need each other and can help each other," he concluded.

Then it was time for dinner. The meal, served on plastic plates, consisted of a local delicacy - cassava, potatoes and a mixture of green vegetables and peanuts. Soon Egeland retired to his hut where a mattress had been laid out for him.

For some on Egeland's entourage, including local and international journalists, the night would be long. Sleeping in a windowless school-room, they endured swarms of mosquitoes. "This area is mosquito-infested. Malaria is the biggest ailment here and it kills many children," Yolanda Olio, the nursing assistant at Opit Health Centre said.

After breakfast of tea and groundnuts the next morning, traditional dancers turned up to bid Egeland farewell. "Thank you for spending a night with us," Munu told Egeland, before the convoy roared away.

Bicycle

Today I finally bought a used bike, which I'll eventually resell when I leave Vienna. I bought it from a friend of a friend who had just bought a new one and hence didn't need the old one. It's in great condition and already has the required bell and lights. It also has a rack on the back and an oh-so-European (or grandmotherly) detachable basket on the front. In addition, I bought a helmet and a lock. I'm set. Now if only it would stop raining!