CHALLENGES
Brinton: I think it’s very… very hard to cultivate humility….it’s not much in this country that ….um…(P)…(phone rang)….that prepare us to be HUMBLE. You know it’s very….and also…in United State…If you can generalize which ….is hard to do, but as…collectivity, we have a very pragmatic proposes to life and we are very …solution oriented, and we won’t insult tomorrow. If not tomorrow,… today. You don’t understand …and one of the thing that I sort of …learn from the….Guatemala…. that no one else in the Mian community which I lived in….changes were very slow. And real change takes a life time. And sometimes two or three life times. And that is very difficult to be PATIENT…with YOUR SELF, and with other people. And that ….you have to figure out the way to enjoy it on the road because that ‘s what we have. We have time on the road, and if we can’t enjoy… each others, and that one of the sort of gifts. I think of…the kind of work that I’ve done in the community psychology in….working in …..toward to action research ….with people …all about…relationships. It ‘s about building relationship. It’s about engaging and acting in relationship. It‘s about reflecting with people on the action and building new understanding. And so I love what I do. I don’t love every little bit of every little day…
Hieu: Oh, of course you have challenging…..
Brinton:…. And I have ….be a part of my challenge…that I…you know. I am indeed…and I do a lot of things….that every day is not much fun. I have to make hard decision sometimes….people don’t like it…..people don’t LIKE ME….because I didn’t……
Hieu: Didn’t please them …
Brinton: RIGHT. RIGHT…..RIGHT….but fundamentally, I …I believe at least in many of the things I am involved in, and I feel that I have a huge gift to be able to work in Human rights center,….to be able to work with …..Martinado fun (unclear)???…to be able to work with the woman Guatemala, woman in South African……And two years…..I spent sometimes in Africa, was more transformative for me ….
(1;39:18)Hieu: I am really interested in that….
Brinton: …They were really ….that was unusual opportunity …that I had and ….the African continent, it’s huge….and it is continue to be …the forgotten continent, it continues to be ...you know…if you live in the United State in particular, It‘s just not on people …(rate..dos???)…going…… they‘re more interested in …China, Japan…for economic reasons, Latin America because it ‘closer, Europe because ….as where many people not all by alone shell….that many people came from, um…and the whole colonial experience in Africa has must been …through Europe. But it ‘s extraordinary to have an opportunity ….on one hand to work in South Africa and a period of time …when the country was in transformation ….coming true of a huge period of being part of …regime...and just terrific of …majority population …to have to rethink EDUCATION, HEALTH and the whole set of policy in procedures. With the constitution was one of the most progressive and inclusive in the world, but how it come and bring that down it reality …how it build a program in projects in the university. And the health system and in the arts, and in security that would make that …flesh ….in a practical way. And then secondly, in the mist of all of that …huge crisis of HIVA, which is just decimating the population. And very challenge to live in the mix up ….
Hieu: Is that right? ….Guatemala is in Central American, and you went to Africa after that!
Brinton: I went to ….I still maintain connection in Guatemala, but I lived in South Africa from 1999 to 2001.
Hieu: Oh! Recently……
Brinton: ..and I actually lived there straight through for two years.
Hieu: ..To build facilities for schools and…
(1:41:15)Brinton: I was …in an endow chair in psychology. Brought there to help collaborate in setting up a community psychology match program to train people in psychology for work in a new South Africa. And I was also interested in working with something called study of …violent and reconciliation which have …been set up to work around psychosocial . ….complement of survivors of victims of the…partake...regime in South Africa. And I have been involved in the truth in reconciliation process. But when I was there, I ended up in trying set up a program with project…where students in psychology getting involve in HIVA work, because that was such a huge problem there. So….but it was a just huge learning experience for me….And I was also ….the FIRST time in my life, when I worked in a country with the government and illuming party was on the side of the people….and….
Hieu: Really….
Brinton: and…..because the African actual…congress that took over under the leader ship of (Nelson Mandala???)…who had been in prison for almost thirty years, under the partake regime… became a first president of the post party transition ….and installed a lot of policies so that the majority population …which was the black and color populations who intake power, and so you work in the University where is…the university was engaging the whole transformation process of trying to bring in leaders and professors, and students, and also the students bodies…were…changing dramatically. Going from……like…thirty percent white to sixty percent black in less than five years. So it was very dynamic, energetic and very illuminating …..in a lot of ways.