With
the exception of a few days in August, I have not been on U.S. soil since early
June.
Prof. Kelley in Rwanda with (left to right) Nicole Daniels (UNC Law '15), Quisha Mallette
(UNC Law '17), and Ellenmai Korkoya (UNC Law '17)
I spent the summer leading a study abroad program in The Hague and Rwanda for a
mix of Carolina law and undergraduate students. The focus was Genocide,
Human Rights, and International Criminal Law. During our week in The
Hague we visited the International Criminal Court and several other
ad hoc international criminal tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia. After The Hague, we spent five weeks in Rwanda
studying that country’s tragic 1994 genocide and their subsequent attempts –
not always successful – to reweave the fabric of their devastated
society.

Prof. Kelley with UNC students on an excursion in the Malealea Valley in Lesotho.
In
mid-August I traveled to South Africa, another post-conflict African
society. I led a Carolina honors undergraduate program focusing on
Justice, Reconciliation, and Development in post-apartheid South Africa.
The group stayed in Cape Town, one of the most beautiful and troubling cities
in the world: beautiful because of its unique Cape Dutch architecture and its
setting between sheer mountains and dramatic coastlines; troubling because of
Cape Town’s stark inequality. A glance in almost any direction will
reveal Ferrari sports cars whizzing past some of the most desperately poor
communities in the world. For the curious, South Africa is considered the
most unequal country on the planet. We in the U.S. are close behind at #9.
I
have learned an enormous amount since leaving the country in June. I have
also had the pleasure of forming close relationships with thirty-four fabulous
students. I am, however, looking forward to returning to my duties in the
Community Development Law Clinic and, on the home front, spending some quality
time with my dogs.
Posted by Thomas A. Kelley III (Tom) on Wed. December 9, 2015 1:55 PM
Categories:
Service