Monday, March 15 2016
Drove about 350 km today to do research interviews at a quite different side of the country. But it was all worth it: I spoke to a mother and a child who have went through a lot of trouble trying to combine education with the special needs of the child.
Two really great things happened; first, the child who had told his mother he did not want to speak to me (his autism and medical condition sometimes get the better of conversation), decided to speak to me after all and we had a really great and long conversation about his right to education, a conversation that taught me a lot.
Second, I rent the car to get me to this faraway place from private owners through an online system...And I was late to return it. Instead of holding this against me, I just received a message from them that they will not charge me fully as a contribution to my research project...so cool!
Two great things that almost make me forget the feeling of sadness I so often have trouble getting rid of, after a day of listening to stories about unjustice, frustrations, clashes of ideas about "the best interest of the child", and the poor children who almost never get the better of this. You would not believe the children's rights violations occuring in this wealthy, western democratic very civilized country called "the Netherlands" (as, I suppose, in any country if you start doing research..).
