Prava y Pravda: Know Your Rights, Chmyrovka!

Lawyer Serge holding new "Know Your Rights" booklet; a village leader wearing a "history" (in English!) shirt; Vera and members of the audience.

A second "Know Your Rights" meeting, supported by a Peace Corps SPA grant to Victoria NGO, was held on 7 August at a large auditorium in the small village of Chmyrovka. Surrounded by fields of wheat and corn, and some sunflowers, the large hall must have witnessed many a grand gathering in its day. This sizzling hot summer day it seemed way too big for the size of the audience of twenty people. But did this lively group fill the space!

Vera followed a similar format as the first community meeting in Starobilsk, giving an introduction and explaining the work of the Peace Corps and the goals and activities of the "Know Your Rights" project. She also distributed and reviewed the new booklet, hot off the press, which was well received. Lawyer Sergei Anatolyvich, who helped write the booklet, said a few words about knowing the laws. One person commented that the booklet was excellent, and liked the suggestions for how to get documents and write to the court. I gave my talk about "The Rule of Law" in America. We didn't have a translator this time, but the handouts were in Russian so people could follow me.

I think the most important part of this meeting followed: Consultations with Sergei in a small group, and then one-on-one. The consultations lasted over an hour and a half. A few women left, then came back, it seemed with more questions. I could see how critical these consultations were, even though I did not understand the issues.

I did understand this, however: The "Know Your Rights" project is filling a great need for civic education, empowering citizens in rural villages, and providing legal consultations to those whose rights have been violated. Thanks to our SPA grant, the lawyer was able to come to this rural village on a hot Saturday afternoon to spend a few hours and talk with its citizens about their rights. Vera told me Sergei has also had several consultations in the office, which is evolving into a useful community resource.

Prava y Pravda: Rights and Truth. The public meetings are fulfilling the promise of this civic education project: "Informed citizens are empowered citizens."