Welcome to the Democratic Republic of Squat

1. Welcome to the Democratic Republic of Squat

2. Welcome to the town of Bupkiss, a small provincial capital in the country of Squat! Today, you’ll all be attending a meeting, which has been called by Chris Jones, the country director for NGOs Without Borders, a large multinational NGO. Chris is doing a basic needs assessment of the province, and is interested in talking to people from Bupkiss itself and from the outlying rural areas; a number of you have traveled today from the outlying village of Spingle. Four years ago, a negotiated settlement brought to an end the terrible, five-year civil war that tore apart the Democratic Republic of Squat. The war pitted the more urban Blechistani minority (which historically has engaged mostly in business and trade and have been excluded from the government) against the majority Squattish population, who were mostly farmers, (except some wealthy industrialists, who have historically controlled the government). The Blechistani Homeland Front wanted the Blechistani majority areas of the country to secede and become part of neighboring Blechistan, which was very enthusiastic about this idea. Since the end of the war, there have been elections, organized and monitored by the UN, and some small steps towards political and economic reconstruction.

3. Some guidelines --Please try to act out your roles as honestly as possible, and do try to stay in character – this includes gender, ethnicity, class, and other characteristics included in your character profiles. --Don’t show your briefing sheets to anyone else in your group, although you can share whatever information your character has, when appropriate.