Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Board of Scholars member Ken Schoolland, Associate Professor of Economics and Political Science at Hawaii Pacific University, is on a world tour visiting various countries teaching at Liberty Camps, which GRIH and its members help to sponsor. He recently checked in with GIR.

"We're now in Baku, Azerbaijan, where we recently made presentations to the Liberal Youth at a meeting hosted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF)," said Schoolland. "In Europe and Asia, the term ‘liberal’ still refers to a classical liberal or libertarian free market school of thought that's eagerly being embraced by the youth abroad. The FNF has even expressed an interest in publishing an Azeri edition of my book, 'The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey' (JG)," he said. “Earlier in the month we taught at the Liberty Conference in the Baltics with liberal youth from Lithuania and Belarus, sponsored by the Lithuanian Free Market Institute and other organizations." In addition, Schoolland made a presentation on free market education to a combined meeting of the Estonian Free Society Institute and the Liberal Youth Club of Tallinn. They are preparing to publish an Estonian edition of JG.

“My wife (Li) and daughter (Kenli) were also teachers at the Language of Liberty Camp in Bakuriani, Georgia, in the Caucasus Mountains of the former Soviet Union," Schoolland explained. "Forty students and staff from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and the Ukraine were sponsored by the New Economic School of Georgia and other organizations for a week of speaking English in the context of the literature and ideas of liberty. We used the Georgian and English editions of JG to prompt discussions and debates about free markets and civil liberties. It's similar to the camp that GRIH Board Member Jeff Crawford joined us at in Slovakia this summer and that Kenli will be teaching at this September in Poland. As you can see from the pictures, everyone had a lot of fun from the Baltic Sea to the Caspian Sea," he asserted. "It would be good to have something like this in our Hawaii someday!"

Schoolland relates to the challenges writers and activists have in other countries. "I thought GIR readers might be interested in the tough times journalists have here in Eastern Europe and Central Asia," he said. "We met with an independent reporter who told us some ghastly stories of what can happen to those who openly criticize the governments over here. The number of arrests and harassment doubled in the past year and the number of critical news stories has plummeted. Journalists and opposition groups are offered a carrot (high pay to work for a government newspaper or affiliated organizations) and the stick (i.e. beatings and stabbings, arrests for trumped up charges) immediately after their stories appear," Schoolland explained. He went on to say that the same inducements are presented to publishers. “From what I hear of the hostility of Mayor Mufi to his critics in Hawaii, I hope we aren’t going down that path."

Prof. Schooland (rear left flashing the Shaka sign) and his follow teachers and students at a 'Language of Liberty Camp in Trakai, Lithuania, Eastern Europe recently. Click here to see a larger version of the photo.

Teaching students liberty is both rewarding and hazardous. “My friends in Baku have hinted that this email might even be monitored and that maybe we should include a greeting in the message to the folks from the Ministry for State Security who are surely monitoring outside communications!" he continued. “As with China, societies here are generally free spirited just so long as one doesn't threaten the power structure. But the people here remain very bold." The wife of Schoolland's host is the lawyer who was the first to succeed against the Azeri government on a case in the International Court of Human Rights-a fascinating story according to Schoolland.

"Just as gripping was the account my students told of their recent arrest for a simple patriotic demonstration. The Liberal Youth are very courageous. On the birthday of the first President of the Independent Azerbaijan Republic, they placed flowers at his birthplace memorial and gave interviews to the invited media." A democratic Azerbaijan once had a very short period of independence from Russia in 1918 that lasted only two years before they were again occupied by the Communists of the Soviet Union. Soviet domination ended with the collapse of the USSR in 1992, but authoritative control is still entrenched. “The police tried to stop the students but they resisted. The police intended to arrest just a couple of the leaders, but some thirty students showed solidarity and insisted that they should all be arrested. The arresting officer personally told one of them they were patriots, but that no demonstrations were allowed," he said. “Such an arrest for a student still risks the loss of their academic standing and even their whole career, but these students weren’t deterred. They even made a party of it, ordering take out pizza and offering it to the police at the station. I was astounded at the bravado these students showed, and pleased at the restraint of the current regime. I hope that our youth in Hawaii will exhibit an equal measure of courage when faced with threats to their freedom.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ken and we look forward to having him back home in Hawaii soon before the school year starts this fall.

For info on the Friedrich Naumann Foundation please visit http://www.fnf.org. For info on Professor Schooland's books please visit http://www.jonathangullible.com.

- GIR-