based on photos from Peter Menzel's Hungry Planet, Time has 15 pictures posted of families around the world with a spread of food representing what they'd eat (and spend) in a week. pretty thought provoking, especially to think of the differences between what graces our kitchen each week compared to what others have. certainly makes me want to change my own eating and spending habits.
[ht to ysmarko]
the emerging women blog has an interesting post on cultural perceptions of women's menstrual cycles and what those perceptions say about views of women in general. the comments that follow the post are worth the read as well.
from the post:
"for centuries men have found women’s menstrual blood and the products they use to deal with it unclean and the butt of jokes." She writes, "Without menstrual blood, we would not have the human race for much longer. It is that monthly cleansing of the womb that allows pregnancy and prolonging our species. It’s high time we acknowledged that far from being unclean and a joke, it is what allows us to be and continue being. It is what makes us intensely feminine, female and other and beautiful."and
We seem to fear or hate our bodies as much as the men.
Is this a latent fear of all things feminine? It is too other for men to try to engage and understand? Is it part of the centuries old habit of despising women for the "weakness" of these things? Or is it even confined just to women or does our culture still accept the dualistic assumptions that disparage the physical body? And why do we as women continue to see the natural aspects of what it means to be female as something to be embarrassed by and hidden? Or is this just a Christian backlash to the world's objectification of all things sexual?
67,871 people showed up to displace me in 15 cities throughout the u.s.
if you didn't read my previous posts (here and here) about the event, or click on the links, i'll fill you in briefly.
invisible children is an organization that was started by three guys who went to africa with some video cameras after college. they ended up in northern uganda, and learned about a war, that has now raged on for 21 years, in which children were being kidnapped and used as child soldiers and killed if they refused. these guys made a video about these child soldiers, and what kids were having to do to avoid being kidnapped, and from there arose their organization which works to help these kids.
the war still rages on, though some of the circumstances have changed since the first video. for the last decade or so, people have been forcibly moved from their villages into involuntary displacement camps, where they have no work, no schools, and little food and water.
the goal of displace me was to draw awareness to this situation. a situation where an entire generation has no education. a situation where poverty, aids, and violence kill constantly.
you can learn more about invisible children and find out how to help on their website, and watch videos about the current situation on the displace me website.
or you can watch this brief video of theirs:
57, 644 people have signed up so far (14 just since i started writing this post).
3 days from now.
and, once again: if you live in (or near) atlanta, austin, chicago, denver, kansas city, l.a., nashville, new orleans, new york, orlando, phoenix, pittsburgh, san francisco, seattle, or washington d.c., i strongly encourage you to sign up and go to this event.
i haven't posted anything else in the last few days because i want the posts about displace me to be what you see when you come here :) oh, that and the fact that i've got a lot of schoolwork to do, stuff to read, papers to write, by 4:30 this Friday afternoon.
but, fear not, after this weekend, i'll make sure to write about something else (though i may blog about the event after the fact as well, as that will probably be more interesting than this post).
15 cities (across the u.s.).
49,512 people (to date).
8 days (from now).
in case you're wondering about those numbers, or the new picture on the top right of the site (that will be there until the event is over), on april 28, 2007, 15 cities are hosting displace me, an invisible children event to help those displaced by the ongoing war in northern uganda.
if you live in (or near) atlanta, austin, chicago, denver, kansas city, l.a., nashville, new orleans, new york, orlando, phoenix, pittsburgh, san francisco, seattle, or washington d.c., i strongly encourage you to sign up and go to this event.
here's the purpose, according to the displace me website:
The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has abducted thousands of children, subjected them to torture or sexual violence and forced them to fight in a violent guerilla army for 21 years—making it the longest running war in Africa. In hopes of providing protection from this rebel militia, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted its Northern citizens from their homes—giving them 48 hours to relocate into camps. Today, more than 1.5 million Northern Ugandans remain far from secure, suffering nearly 1,000 deaths per week due to inhumane living conditions in the camps.
Alcoholism, sexual abuse, HIV/AIDS, inadequate sanitation and lack of education have caused immeasurable damage to two generations and the near-total destruction of Acholi culture. Water is scarce and people are reliant on food to be delivered by foreign aid. If the food isn’t delivered, the people starve. This April, the already meager rations delivered by the World Food Program to the camps will be cut in half due to lack of funding—with school feeding programs and support for HIV/aids victims soon to follow. This will indisputably increase the number of deaths among those already suffering from severe malnutrition—mostly among women, children and the elderly. That is why the timing of this event, and your participation are so crucial.
“Displace Me” is the nationwide event giving Americans the chance to respond.
By traveling to one of our 15 camps and gathering together, the strength of our size will make a visible statement to our government and media that the citizens of the U.S. demand action in ending the war in Northern Uganda, in order to send the Acholi people suffering in the camps and the abducted children back home. The point is to travel; the point is to become displaced yourself.
at church last week we watched a film called Invisible Children. it's a heartbreaking tale of the situation in Uganda. knowing that i knew nothing about this before, i'll assume you don't either (whoever you are that's reading this).
there's a rebel resistance group there called the lord's resistance army (lra) that has been fighting for years. the thing about the lra is that their recruits are forced into service. they do this by invading villages at night, and kidnapping children between the ages of five and twelve - old enough to carry things, yet young enough to be forced into service and brainwashed easily. they immediately subject these children to violence, to scare them into obedience. if a kid resists, they are killed. if they cry, showing fear or homesickness, they are killed. they are beaten, threatened, and the girls are raped and forced to marry older men.
to avoid these kidnappings, children from the villages commute into the larger towns on their own each night. they sleep in overcrowded verandas or hospitals with little to no adult supervision. traveling on their own, and facing such violence, they are forced into early adulthood. the older children experiment sexually, using things like used plastic bags as makeshift condoms. those who are lucky enough to go to school, have to study on their own at night by candlelight.
these kids have seen atrocities we can only imagine. they face risks each day just to survive and experience some sort of freedom.
the film was made by three college grads who just wanted to go out and experience something different, so they went to africa to film a documentary. this turned out to be a life changing experience for them. after seeing these kids and interviewing them, they haven't been able to leave them. they have formed an organization to help these kids. they offer counseling to those who've been forced to fight, education, and other resources. this is their mission statement:
Invisible Children, Inc. changes culture, policy, and lives through collisions of poverty and power.
The Mission is the ultimate goal of Invisible Children—the resources, skills, and funds that hit the ground in Uganda, providing healthcare, safety, employment, and education.
Invisible Children, Inc. believes that changing the lives of people in underprivileged areas is just as important as changing lives in the western world. The only way change can come in Uganda, and other places in need, is to educate and empower the rest of the world to do something. One of the darkest things about Africa is the rest of the world’s ignorance towards it. If you believe in what we’re doing, join us. We are unlike many other nonprofits: We take your donation, make it larger by plugging it into our programs in the United States, and send the greater amount to Uganda. Please visit the “Programs” page of our website for more information on the Invisible Children Bracelet Campaign and the Education Program.
. i don't know, maybe you'll want to buy the dvd and watch it (and after seeing it, show it to others to expose them to what's going on as well). maybe you can't do that, but can give a donation, or buy a bracelet or find some other way to help these invisible children.
