France in Four; Djibouti in Five

Four days from now I will be exploring the mean streets of Paris, France. This, however, is just a short layover as five days from now - barring the unforeseen - I should be arriving in Djibouti where I will begin a six-month internship with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

I am to be based in Ali-Sabieh, Djibouti, and my work is to centre on the Ali-Addeh refugee camp. It is my intention to use this 'weblog' to chronicle my time and work in Djibouti.

As a bit of a background on myself (which seems appropriate for this first entry) - and how I came to be on my way to Djibouti - for the last year and a half I have been living in Iqaluit, Nunavut, the last eight months of which employed as Legal Counsel in the Legal and Constitutional Law Division with the Department of Justice, Government of Nunavut. Prior to arriving in Iqaluit I had spent six months in New Delhi, India, with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative - a nongovernmental human rights organization - on an internship arranged by Acadia University, through funding provided by the Canadian International Development Agency. My time with CHRI was not unremarkable, I met many interesting people and accomplished many great things, and indeed this experience left a lasting impression with me of the very gratifying life of being engaged internationally in the protection and promotion of human rights.

After my time in India, I had hoped to again one day resume working in the international development and human rights theatres, but the question remained: how I would go about doing this? On the advice of one of my colleagues in the GN Department of Justice, in late 2009 I registered myself on the CANADEM roster, and further applied for the CANADEM GPS program. My contact with CANADEM GPS has been exceedingly helpful over the last few months and was indeed instrumental in assisting me secure this upcoming internship with the UNHCR which closely aligns with my career development objectives.

While I enjoyed my time in Canada's Arctic, and am sure the very interesting and challenging work I was exposed to with the Government of Nunavut is like nothing I could otherwise have hoped to encounter in my very young legal career, I am very much looking forward to my time in Djibouti and the many rewarding challenges I am bound to be faced with there.

Now, as stated above, I hope to use this 'weblog' to chronicle my time and work with the UNHCR in Djibouti (as closely as obligations of confidentiality and propriety will allow). So from time to time, do check in; check out my weblog entries and pictures I may post; and feel free to post any of your own comments and questions as they may arise. I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone through this medium during my time abroad (and should generally be reachable via email).

Merci.

James M