As I was sitting in the library last Friday afternoon holding a copy of my senior paper, it finally hit me – I am graduating. It was then that I began to think about what I have learned in the last four years at Luther. My career for the past four years has been a student activist. Alyssa Erickson (‘03) gave a top ten list of things she had learned from her days at Luther at her lecture on grassroots activism for Peace Week this year. She has inspired me to make my own list of things I have learned.
#1. Work across lines. Have you ever tried to organize an event and then have little to no people show up for it? I have. It sucks. The best way to make sure that you have an audience is to work with another organization(s) and join creative forces. This way, you’ll be targeting many different crowds at the same time, which will hopefully increase your numbers at any event, thereby spreading your message faster.
#2. Stay positive and hopeful. This is very important. No one wants to work with someone who is grumpy and negative all of the time. People are more likely to want to help out if they have a sense that something good will come out of that work, and that can’t happen if you push them away with negativity.
#3. Don’t over involve yourself. I am guilty of doing this. It is hard to find a balance between your homework and activism. As long as you are satisfied with the work that you do, then don’t worry. But if, at the end of the day, you’re freaking out about all of the responsibilities you have, and not having enough time or energy to get everything done, perhaps you should consider decreasing the level of responsibility you are taking on.
#4. Take a break. Don’t forget to take care of yourself. You will be of no good to anyone if you are having panic attacks or getting little to no sleep each night. This does not mean you are a quitter or are giving up. It just means that you need to take a break every once in a while to maintain your passion as well as your energy.
#5. Learn to say, “No.” This is the one thing that I still have much trouble doing. There are many things that need to change and oftentimes, it is easy to think that you are the only one who is working for that change. But, you’re not. Change takes time and it takes many people. Besides, if you say no, perhaps you will have opened the door for someone else to become involved.
These are just a few things I have learned, but they are the ones that will stay with me for a long time. I encourage you all to become involved in whatever you are passionate about. Don’t worry if you’ve never been a part of anything before. Just know that your presence and participation is needed and appreciated.
If you are graduating with me, don’t think that you can’t be involved in the communities you are moving into. There are plenty of non-profit organizations and other social justice groups that need your help – whether it comes in the form of becoming a member of something or just attending their events. There’s a lot of work to do, so get to it.
Meghan Karels
Showing posts with label social justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social justice. Show all posts
Monday, June 13, 2005
Friday, April 08, 2005
Hunger: We need to start asking why it exists.
My mom always used to say, “Meghan, you need to eat all the food on your plate because there are children starving in (insert impoverished country here).” I’m sure you’ve all heard something similar from an adult in your life at some point during your childhood. I remember thinking to myself, “If some kid is starving in China, why can’t I just ship them my food? I’m not hungry and I don’t like this food anyway!” The motivation of these handy phrases, like renewing our membership with the “clean plate club,” serve as a reminder of what a privilege it is to be able to have enough food.
Issues of hunger and privilege came up again when a couple of weeks ago, I was reading “Peace: 100 Ideas” by Joshua C. Chen and David Krieger. Each page has a different way to invoke peace within ourselves as well as in our local communities and our global community. One page in particular caught my attention. It gave a statistic of how many children are living in poverty and dying from hunger. After the statistic, it said, “help fight hunger and sponsor a needy child.” This is a noble cause, but I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing.
We all know that hunger exists around the world, yet we rarely hear about why such realities exist. Why is it that two-thirds of the world is comprised of so-called “Third World” countries? Why don’t we ask ourselves why we are so fortunate? I personally believe that these “needy children” represent the consequences of what happens when one group of people hold more than their fair share of the resources.
I’m not suggesting that we don’t work with programs and organizations that advocate using the monetary resources that we have to help others in need. I am suggesting that we push ourselves further – to go beyond recognizing that we do have a fairly decent living condition in comparison to what the majority of the world faces. We need to start asking why children are starving around the world instead of just feeling bad for them. We need to examine the politics surrounding hunger.
Why does our government find it acceptable to allow international banks (such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization) to control and push for agricultural sectors in these countries to plant cash crops instead of sustainable agriculture? Why is it that the majority of Americans have no idea what the WB, IMF and WTO are?
I realize that these questions are difficult and can’t be answered in a timely or simple manner, but I believe we need to push ourselves to start looking for such answers. We need to help educate our friends, our families and ourselves. We can’t keep telling our kids to finish eating their food while we throw money at a problem that seems to be increasing year after year. We need to start asking why.
Issues of hunger and privilege came up again when a couple of weeks ago, I was reading “Peace: 100 Ideas” by Joshua C. Chen and David Krieger. Each page has a different way to invoke peace within ourselves as well as in our local communities and our global community. One page in particular caught my attention. It gave a statistic of how many children are living in poverty and dying from hunger. After the statistic, it said, “help fight hunger and sponsor a needy child.” This is a noble cause, but I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing.
We all know that hunger exists around the world, yet we rarely hear about why such realities exist. Why is it that two-thirds of the world is comprised of so-called “Third World” countries? Why don’t we ask ourselves why we are so fortunate? I personally believe that these “needy children” represent the consequences of what happens when one group of people hold more than their fair share of the resources.
I’m not suggesting that we don’t work with programs and organizations that advocate using the monetary resources that we have to help others in need. I am suggesting that we push ourselves further – to go beyond recognizing that we do have a fairly decent living condition in comparison to what the majority of the world faces. We need to start asking why children are starving around the world instead of just feeling bad for them. We need to examine the politics surrounding hunger.
Why does our government find it acceptable to allow international banks (such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization) to control and push for agricultural sectors in these countries to plant cash crops instead of sustainable agriculture? Why is it that the majority of Americans have no idea what the WB, IMF and WTO are?
I realize that these questions are difficult and can’t be answered in a timely or simple manner, but I believe we need to push ourselves to start looking for such answers. We need to help educate our friends, our families and ourselves. We can’t keep telling our kids to finish eating their food while we throw money at a problem that seems to be increasing year after year. We need to start asking why.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
A Few People Can Make A Huge Difference - Grassroots Style
Student activists, a.k.a. peaceniks or hippies, are all over the place. You know who they are and when to avoid them when they sit at tables outside the CAF trying to sell you buttons, t-shirts, and even cookies. What you may not know, however, is the great work that they actually do on campus. There are so many organizations that make real differences - grassroots style.
The League of Pissed Off Voters organized a voter registration drive and voter bloc campaign this past fall. They were part of a larger national movement that was focused on getting marginalized people (women, youth, and people of color) to vote in this year’s presidential election. There were over one 100 people on the League’s list-serve, but none of the group’s success could have been achieved if it weren’t for the loyal eight to twelve students who spent their time organize. Although George W. Bush beat John Kerry by 2% nationally, Winneshiek County went blue by nearly thirty votes because of the work that the League accomplished. A few people can make a huge difference – even if the end result is not desired.
Ever wonder how to attract more people to be involved in your organization? PRIDE (People for Rights, Inclusion, and Diversity of Expression) has managed to increase its membership tenfold. At the beginning of the year there were over 80 people that came to the first meeting. The meetings not only average around 20 members weekly, but they manage to organize two themed weeks every year that are geared towards educating the greater campus community on LGBT concerns that affect us all. This past weekend, PRIDE sent a group of 22 people (roughly 1% of the Luther population) to the fifth annual Midwestern Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, and Ally College Conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota. PRIDE leaders and members also presented two workshops at the conference that were geared towards helping other groups reorganize their leadership structure as well as increasing the effectiveness of organizations on small, religious, liberal arts campuses. A few people can make a huge difference – on and off campus.
In January of 2003, a handful of Luther students involved in SDAC (Student Diversity Action Coalition) had a vision of collaborating with others to create an entire week dedicated to peace. “Peace.” The idea was simple, but its purpose would go far and beyond the ordinary themed week. Each year, it has progressed in to something larger than it was before. Peace Week proves is an example of the power and ability of grassroots organizing. A few people can make a huge difference – and that difference can be sustainable.
Student organizing happens on colleges and universities world wide. But what exactly motivates students to become involved or not? These are the kinds of questions group leaders and members ask. However, they are questions we should all be asking ourselves. I’ve noticed that involvement in activism fluctuates like a rollercoaster. The greater the sense of urgency there is about an issue, the larger the turnout. There is a lot of work that needs to be done at Luther, in our communities and the rest of the world. This work is not meant to be left up to solely those in positions of power. A few people really can make a huge difference if they organize around an idea that people can be passionate about.
The League of Pissed Off Voters organized a voter registration drive and voter bloc campaign this past fall. They were part of a larger national movement that was focused on getting marginalized people (women, youth, and people of color) to vote in this year’s presidential election. There were over one 100 people on the League’s list-serve, but none of the group’s success could have been achieved if it weren’t for the loyal eight to twelve students who spent their time organize. Although George W. Bush beat John Kerry by 2% nationally, Winneshiek County went blue by nearly thirty votes because of the work that the League accomplished. A few people can make a huge difference – even if the end result is not desired.
Ever wonder how to attract more people to be involved in your organization? PRIDE (People for Rights, Inclusion, and Diversity of Expression) has managed to increase its membership tenfold. At the beginning of the year there were over 80 people that came to the first meeting. The meetings not only average around 20 members weekly, but they manage to organize two themed weeks every year that are geared towards educating the greater campus community on LGBT concerns that affect us all. This past weekend, PRIDE sent a group of 22 people (roughly 1% of the Luther population) to the fifth annual Midwestern Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, and Ally College Conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota. PRIDE leaders and members also presented two workshops at the conference that were geared towards helping other groups reorganize their leadership structure as well as increasing the effectiveness of organizations on small, religious, liberal arts campuses. A few people can make a huge difference – on and off campus.
In January of 2003, a handful of Luther students involved in SDAC (Student Diversity Action Coalition) had a vision of collaborating with others to create an entire week dedicated to peace. “Peace.” The idea was simple, but its purpose would go far and beyond the ordinary themed week. Each year, it has progressed in to something larger than it was before. Peace Week proves is an example of the power and ability of grassroots organizing. A few people can make a huge difference – and that difference can be sustainable.
Student organizing happens on colleges and universities world wide. But what exactly motivates students to become involved or not? These are the kinds of questions group leaders and members ask. However, they are questions we should all be asking ourselves. I’ve noticed that involvement in activism fluctuates like a rollercoaster. The greater the sense of urgency there is about an issue, the larger the turnout. There is a lot of work that needs to be done at Luther, in our communities and the rest of the world. This work is not meant to be left up to solely those in positions of power. A few people really can make a huge difference if they organize around an idea that people can be passionate about.
Friday, November 05, 2004
Grave Disservice to the World...
this is from my good friend krissy haltinner...her words are inspirational...hopefully, you'll become inspired to act, just as i was.
in peace and frustration,
meghan
-------
Well, our nation has committed a great disservice to the world. Once again we have been blinded by privilege, power, and money. I for one am angry, shocked, and disappointed. Not only have we re-elected someone with a history of harming the world, but in many places we have made it unconstitutional to marry the person you love.
As much as this hurts, we can’t wallow in these feelings. Remember that change is not made by people who sleep. As the amazing group Sweet Honey in the Rock sings, "We who believe in freedom cannot rest". We have a lot of work to do.
As your heart is angry today remember that "the only thing necessary for the perpetuation of evil is for good people to do nothing" (Jane Elliot). We cannot "sell-out" and relax in complacency. Yes, the easy thing is to relax and ignore the evils and harsh realities of life on this planet. The easy thing is to go to work, come home, watch TV, and not challenge ourselves. I for one pledge never to resign myself to accepting the system, and I ask you to join me.
We can use our voices.
We can use our actions.
We can use our pens.
We can use our purchasing power.
We have so many skills, we need to put them to use.
We need to work in communications and end this media domination by the right. We need to work in education and teach our children to think critically. We need to work in law and public policy. We need to work in marketing and sell social justice. Two weeks ago I was at a Baltimore Ravens football game. Over 60,000 people were willing to fight for a group of people to get a ball across a line. We need to tap into this energy. We need to use our talents, whatever they are, to fix this system.
It is time to reorganize and remobilize ourselves. Progressive peoples are lacking in real leadership these days. We cannot let this fact prevent us from tackling injustice and ignorance wherever we face it.
Let this election be a reminder to you of the importance of your role in the world. Together we can change so much.
"It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act." Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama), 1999
kristin haltinner
American University
Sociology Dept
www.theblackcommentator.com
www.whiteprivilegeconference.com
www.zmag.org
http://krissyhaltinner.blogspot.com/
http://projects.takingitglobal.org/capitaltruth
in peace and frustration,
meghan
-------
Well, our nation has committed a great disservice to the world. Once again we have been blinded by privilege, power, and money. I for one am angry, shocked, and disappointed. Not only have we re-elected someone with a history of harming the world, but in many places we have made it unconstitutional to marry the person you love.
As much as this hurts, we can’t wallow in these feelings. Remember that change is not made by people who sleep. As the amazing group Sweet Honey in the Rock sings, "We who believe in freedom cannot rest". We have a lot of work to do.
As your heart is angry today remember that "the only thing necessary for the perpetuation of evil is for good people to do nothing" (Jane Elliot). We cannot "sell-out" and relax in complacency. Yes, the easy thing is to relax and ignore the evils and harsh realities of life on this planet. The easy thing is to go to work, come home, watch TV, and not challenge ourselves. I for one pledge never to resign myself to accepting the system, and I ask you to join me.
We can use our voices.
We can use our actions.
We can use our pens.
We can use our purchasing power.
We have so many skills, we need to put them to use.
We need to work in communications and end this media domination by the right. We need to work in education and teach our children to think critically. We need to work in law and public policy. We need to work in marketing and sell social justice. Two weeks ago I was at a Baltimore Ravens football game. Over 60,000 people were willing to fight for a group of people to get a ball across a line. We need to tap into this energy. We need to use our talents, whatever they are, to fix this system.
It is time to reorganize and remobilize ourselves. Progressive peoples are lacking in real leadership these days. We cannot let this fact prevent us from tackling injustice and ignorance wherever we face it.
Let this election be a reminder to you of the importance of your role in the world. Together we can change so much.
"It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act." Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama), 1999
kristin haltinner
American University
Sociology Dept
www.theblackcommentator.com
www.whiteprivilegeconference.com
www.zmag.org
http://krissyhaltinner.blogspot.com/
http://projects.takingitglobal.org/capitaltruth
Friday, October 08, 2004
What This Whole Draft Thing Is Really About...
Ok...
So, last night there was a forum on political issues and what the candidates thought about said issues. A question about the possibilities of a draft came up. And this is what I found out:
-The draft bill that was sitting in the House did not pass.
-There is still on in the Senate that needs to be voted on.
-It is supported by BOTH REPUBLICANS & DEMOCRATS.
-It was started originally to take the burden off of low income families, who are disproportionately people of color, by making it mandatory for ALL U.S. citizens to participate in either military or civic duty programs.
-What does that mean?
-It means that right now, there are more working class people in the military and no Congresspeoples kids, very little upper-middle, and upper class U.S. citizens serving.
-I suppose you could consider this a low income/people of color draft that is currently in place.
-I would hope that the military would stop bragging about Affirmative Action right now...seeing as they are not using it the way it is supposed to be.
-There is currently a thing called a 'back door draft'.
-This is when people who think they have served their time in the military get called up and told that they are not done yet.
-Whoops, I believe this is illegal...
-Also...
-We have plently of troops.
-We are just stretching them thin.
-We are occupying too many countries at one time, thus we do not have the numbers necessary to 'get r done' in the places with the most conflict.
If anyone has any comments/questions/concerns about this, I'll gladly help w/answering.
So, last night there was a forum on political issues and what the candidates thought about said issues. A question about the possibilities of a draft came up. And this is what I found out:
-The draft bill that was sitting in the House did not pass.
-There is still on in the Senate that needs to be voted on.
-It is supported by BOTH REPUBLICANS & DEMOCRATS.
-It was started originally to take the burden off of low income families, who are disproportionately people of color, by making it mandatory for ALL U.S. citizens to participate in either military or civic duty programs.
-What does that mean?
-It means that right now, there are more working class people in the military and no Congresspeoples kids, very little upper-middle, and upper class U.S. citizens serving.
-I suppose you could consider this a low income/people of color draft that is currently in place.
-I would hope that the military would stop bragging about Affirmative Action right now...seeing as they are not using it the way it is supposed to be.
-There is currently a thing called a 'back door draft'.
-This is when people who think they have served their time in the military get called up and told that they are not done yet.
-Whoops, I believe this is illegal...
-Also...
-We have plently of troops.
-We are just stretching them thin.
-We are occupying too many countries at one time, thus we do not have the numbers necessary to 'get r done' in the places with the most conflict.
If anyone has any comments/questions/concerns about this, I'll gladly help w/answering.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Protecting the 'Sanctity' of Marriage
i wrote this letter to the editor to my school newspaper last spring...but i wanted to post it here too b/c bush pisses me off and so do the rest of his stupid religious right fanatics.
~~~~~~~~~
President George W. Bush is pushing for an amendment to the Constitution that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Much of the argument in favor of this amendment relates to the sanctity of marriage. What, then, does sanctity mean?According to the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, it means “godliness” or “sacredness.” So, not only does this word have the capacity to hold a powerful recognition of a relationship, but it is followed by another word that adds a religious implication.
This piece of legislation that is trying to implement an amendment to the Constitution that will discriminate against one group of people solely because of sexuality … well, it is simply unconstitutional. The First Amendment specifically states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The groundwork of this country was for a secular nation that has a separation of church and state.There are millions of straight people getting married every day, and 50 percent of them getting divorced within one year. Can we honestly say there is such thing as “sanctity of marriage”? Why should straight people be the only ones to have their relationship legally, religiously and socially recognized as legitimate? The ban on gay marriage is wrapped up in the Christian religion.
In a “secular” nation, the right to marry should not be about religion. Even those who are married by a Justice of the Peace receive a marriage certificate, whether or not they want the religious term “marriage” involved in securing their legal rights, rights that gay couples are denied. For example, a gay person cannot see her/his sick partner in the hospital, adopt children, or in many cases, receive health benefits.Bush is hiding behind the word “sanctity.” Bush is trying to protect the institution of marriage as we know it, but what is he trying to protect it from? People who love each other and would simply like to have their relationship recognized the way that everyone else is able to?
Protecting the entitlement of legal rights that the institution of marriage grants, but only to straight people, is Bush’s real agenda. This is blatant discrimination. Amendments such as this do nothing to promote the “sanctity of marriage.” Rather, this amendment encourages religious hegemony, hatred, homophobia and discrimination, all of which are things that detract from the ideals our nation was built on.
~~~~~~~~~
President George W. Bush is pushing for an amendment to the Constitution that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Much of the argument in favor of this amendment relates to the sanctity of marriage. What, then, does sanctity mean?According to the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, it means “godliness” or “sacredness.” So, not only does this word have the capacity to hold a powerful recognition of a relationship, but it is followed by another word that adds a religious implication.
This piece of legislation that is trying to implement an amendment to the Constitution that will discriminate against one group of people solely because of sexuality … well, it is simply unconstitutional. The First Amendment specifically states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The groundwork of this country was for a secular nation that has a separation of church and state.There are millions of straight people getting married every day, and 50 percent of them getting divorced within one year. Can we honestly say there is such thing as “sanctity of marriage”? Why should straight people be the only ones to have their relationship legally, religiously and socially recognized as legitimate? The ban on gay marriage is wrapped up in the Christian religion.
In a “secular” nation, the right to marry should not be about religion. Even those who are married by a Justice of the Peace receive a marriage certificate, whether or not they want the religious term “marriage” involved in securing their legal rights, rights that gay couples are denied. For example, a gay person cannot see her/his sick partner in the hospital, adopt children, or in many cases, receive health benefits.Bush is hiding behind the word “sanctity.” Bush is trying to protect the institution of marriage as we know it, but what is he trying to protect it from? People who love each other and would simply like to have their relationship recognized the way that everyone else is able to?
Protecting the entitlement of legal rights that the institution of marriage grants, but only to straight people, is Bush’s real agenda. This is blatant discrimination. Amendments such as this do nothing to promote the “sanctity of marriage.” Rather, this amendment encourages religious hegemony, hatred, homophobia and discrimination, all of which are things that detract from the ideals our nation was built on.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Quote of My Life
"when i despair, i remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. think of it - always."
-gandhi 1869-1948
this quote is one that i have recently stumbled upon, but it gives me hope...which has been something that has been very difficult for me to find and hold on to as of late - especially when it comes to thinking about the upcoming presidential elections.
-gandhi 1869-1948
this quote is one that i have recently stumbled upon, but it gives me hope...which has been something that has been very difficult for me to find and hold on to as of late - especially when it comes to thinking about the upcoming presidential elections.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Saturday, September 18, 2004
el salvador and nicaragua
i've taken a couple of emails that i was able to send out to a few people while on my trip to el salvador and nicaragua, but i wanted to be able toshare some of the experiences that i had with all y'all...so, here goes.
WARNING...SOME OF THIS MATERIAL IS VERY GRAPHIC.
------------------------------------
thursday, 08 january, 2004 (email)
yesterday was by far the hardest day of my trip.i saw the actual pictures of the 6 murdered jesuit priests and the 2 women who were seeking safety within the university of central america'swalls...it was the most gruesome thing that i have ever seen.
i started to shake and cry instantaneously. one of the priests had his hand blown off because he was trying to protect himself, i'm guessing...another had thetop portion of his head blown off. another priest's face had part of it stripped and his eyes were frozen into a terrified stare...i can still seeit in my head. for a short period of time, i had to actually remove myself from the place where we were looking at the photos...then come backafter i was able to calm down a little bit. after seeing the pictures, we toured the dormatory rooms that the priests lived in and the room that the two women were staying in.
this whole situation is completely repugnant and incomprehensible...
these people were dragged out of their homes and killed so brutally that they were not recognizable...and i am certain that the mother was raped and her daughter was killed while praying...from theway that they were positioned in the photographs...what would drive anyone to do such things to another human being? i don'tunderstand it at all...i doubt i ever will. it was so horrible...the wholetime that we were there, i felt a huge weight on my heart and my stomach was definately doing flips.
later on in the day, we visited the site of where monseñor romero was killed. there was a nun that was about 4 foot 6 who told us about him, but when we were walking to romero's home, she approached me and asked mewhere i was from and if i could speak spanish, but i told her that my spanish was not the greatest so she started speaking english and asked me again where i was from, so i told her where and that my dad was from india and that my mother's family comes from norway and germany and she smiled really sweetly and said that i was very special.
i've never thought of myself that way before...it definately took my by surprise and it made me smile a lot...i asked her about herself and she told me that she was from honduras and so was her family and that she was very happy to be in elsalvador...during this whole time, she grabbed my hand and held it...one of my classmates took a cute picture of us =) sister benedita told us the story of romero and how he had changed her life and was still present inher life through the people he has touched in life and in death and it was so beautiful that i started to cry again. she had the most amazing eyes...they were kind of gray...but not the clouded over gray look that old people get...they were just gray...like a wise, powerful color of gray.
------------------------
*CO-MADRES is an organization that is made up of mostly women who went around looking for the disappeared. they returned the bodies to the families so they could properly bury and grieve for those who were murdered. they also took pictures and documented on everyone they found so that they could seek legal justice for the crimes that were committed.they and their families were also victims of kidnapping, torture, and murder at the hands of the salvadoran government and national army.
the army was trained at the school of the america's (which is located in the u.s.) and our government/along with the c.i.a. also paid for the arms/supplies for the salvadoran army with u.s. money and money that wasmade by drug trafficing done by the c.i.a.
*friday, 09 january, 2004 (journal entry)
my heart sheds millions of tears as i listen to two incredible women's personal stories about their struggles during the Arms Conflict and after. Alicia had lost half of her family and was physically tortured...we heard the story of her sixteen year old son and how he was brutally murdered because he helped the families of the disappeared and murdered find information and seek justice for the crimes made against them and their loved ones.
during one of the times that alicia was kidnapped and tortured, she was given a forced abortion. she was 5 months pregnant...but because they beat her and tortured her, she lost her baby. Patricia was only 10 years old when she became involved with the CO-MADRES. a few years later, she was kidnapped, raped and tortured, then released. she still stuck with the organization and was kidnapped, again, and raped and tortured again....the pain in these women's eyes as they told their stories was...so intense...yet, the still told us. despite the fact that it must feel worse than pouring salt into an open wound...the CO-MADRES were only trying to help those in need (as well as themselves) find peace and justice and they suffered greatly for it.
they photographed everything they saw and kept track of how many people had been killed or disappeared.i saw a lot of the photos of the murdered. it was so horrible. i was so shocked at what i was looking at that all i could do was shake and keep looking. i needed to see all of these images...these realities...i owed it to the people who suffered under the hands of my own government. i needed to see because i need to be able to share the Salvadoran struggle with everyone back home. so, i forced myself to look at decapitated men, women, and children.
i forced myself to look at extremities that were no longer recognizable because these men, women and children tried to protect themselves from the guns, acid, fire, fists, knives, boots, etc. i saw children with the skin on their chests and backs stipped clean to the bone because acid was poured on them. some people were run over by tanks, someset on fire, some were viciously tortured before finally being alllowed death...to give them peace. women and young girls were brutally raped infront of family members and men and young boys were beaten in their testicles..some had their penises cut of and shoved down their mouths so that they not only bled to death, but suffocated as well. fingertips were burned with lighters, acid poured into eyes...these are the pictures that i saw..this is the reality of el salvador...this is what i will never forget. this is what so many people back home don't know about...and if they do know, they aren't doing a very good job letting everyone else know. this needs to be heard...this can't be forgotten...or it will be repeated again.
but then again, things like this happened during world war two...so can we stop it from happening?
i don't know...maybe. but i can'tjust sit and be complacent. i can't do nothing.
-------------------------------------
wednesday, 14 january, 2004 (email)
so, when i was at this co-operative community called nueva esperanza (newhope) we spent an afternoon with the youth of the community and i had an interesting experience with one of the boys that i met. he is the same ageas me and his name is william. he asked me what i am studying and i told him sociology and political science and then he responded by telling me that he can´t go to university because there is not enough money to send all of the youth. i really didn´t know how to respond to him, but i called cesar (our translator) over and asked him to tell william that i want to go back to the u.s. and let everyone know the struggles and realities of the people of el salvador so that we can create awareness and help make change for the people...but he didn´t really look very impressed....then i felt like an arrogant u.s. american. i felt really bad about that...
i want everyone to know that i am sincere and that i don´t want to magically fix everything for them, but rather work side by side with them in theirstruggle to help things improve because i recognize the part that i have played, through my government and globalization, in their struggle and i want it to be different. i don´t want to bring the people up to the standards of the u.s. because that would be insane and the world would explode if everyone had two-story homes and 3 car garages, etc.
but instead, i want people in the u.s. to stop being like adolescents that always are wanting more and more things and not recognizing the selfishness and over consumption. i want the u.s. to grow up and be adults and start being a nurturing nation that will work side by side with its own people and the other nations that we have involved ourselves with.that is what i have learned today from a really cool nun. she is from jersey and rocks. she said things like, "if you still think that god has a penis, then you need to grow up"
...this woman was amazing and very refreshing and inspiring... it was good to talk to a fellow u.s. citizen and talk about the struggles of the people in el salvador. i really enjoyed her energy and passion for life and peace and justice...but it isn't just the u.s. that needs to change. it's every other nation that is acting like that. we need to be a nurturing country. we need to stop this selfishness...the gluttenous behavior...we need to start caring.
if we'resuch a huge super-power, then why aren't we doing better things around the world?
----------------------------------------
reflections/conclusions
...basic human rights...what are they? what do we define them as? i think of basic human rights being the following:
enough food to eat everyday.
now, this may not have to mean that everyonehas the option to have all sorts of food available to them all thetime...no, enough food (according to me) constitutes as 3 meals a day that are sufficient enough to give the nutrients that we all need to survive.
access to clean water.
this whole business of privatizing water is bullshit. i'm sorry, but it is. we all need water to survive...clean water.
education (at least k-12, but i'm all for higher education for all).
why do you think that there's crime and gangs, etc. when there are so many kids that could be in school, out on the streets trying to survive. this doesn't make any sense?
access to basic health care.
i'm not saying that doctors and nursesshould work for free...but there shouldn't be children dying from diarrhea and other preventable diseases. that is just ridiculous.i know that all of these things are more complicated than i'm making it out to be...but at the same time, i don't think that they are that hard to provide for people....the answers are often times simple...but organizations like the IMF (international monetary fund) and the world bank are making it harder for so many people world wide to have these things...and all for what? money? again, this is bullshit.
i'm not againstprivate businesses, but i'm against monopolies. i'm against 3 families owning 90% of the wealth. i'm against the whole fact that only 1/3rd ofthe world is really "developed" and only because it takes from the rest of the 2/3rds of the world in order to be developed. 2/3rds of the world should not be in poverty, should not have basic human rights denied to them.
i'm sorry if this sounds like i'm ranting and raving...just kidding. i'm not sorry.
i'm pissed off. i'm frustrated, i'm feeling helpless/hopeless/angry.....but at the same time i feel motivated/inspired/pressed for time to act.
i'm impatient and i want change. i know that change takes time, but i'm tired of sitting around.
i want to act and that's what i plan on doing. i'm going to tell as that i can about my experiences...i'm going to continue my education and i'm going into foreign policy because, frankly...the u.s.foreign policy that we currently has...well, for lack of a better word, SUCKS.
so, i'm infiltrating it from the inside and i'm going to make change. and to all those who tell me i can't do it...well, piss off. i don't need your encouragement. i'm going to do it, and you're going to have to come up with a lot more to change my mind or stop me.
ok. i'll end my email now. thank you so much for reading it all the way through.
i know a lot of it was graphic and not exactly easy to digest...i haven't fully dealt or processed everything that i've experienced/learned/etc...i guess with time it will get easier to deal with...but then again, maybe it won't. if anyone would like to talk more about my trip with me, i'll be glad to share...but remember that this was not a vacation...and some of the things that i learned are hard for me to share...just please be patient with me.
peace,
meghan
WARNING...SOME OF THIS MATERIAL IS VERY GRAPHIC.
------------------------------------
thursday, 08 january, 2004 (email)
yesterday was by far the hardest day of my trip.i saw the actual pictures of the 6 murdered jesuit priests and the 2 women who were seeking safety within the university of central america'swalls...it was the most gruesome thing that i have ever seen.
i started to shake and cry instantaneously. one of the priests had his hand blown off because he was trying to protect himself, i'm guessing...another had thetop portion of his head blown off. another priest's face had part of it stripped and his eyes were frozen into a terrified stare...i can still seeit in my head. for a short period of time, i had to actually remove myself from the place where we were looking at the photos...then come backafter i was able to calm down a little bit. after seeing the pictures, we toured the dormatory rooms that the priests lived in and the room that the two women were staying in.
this whole situation is completely repugnant and incomprehensible...
these people were dragged out of their homes and killed so brutally that they were not recognizable...and i am certain that the mother was raped and her daughter was killed while praying...from theway that they were positioned in the photographs...what would drive anyone to do such things to another human being? i don'tunderstand it at all...i doubt i ever will. it was so horrible...the wholetime that we were there, i felt a huge weight on my heart and my stomach was definately doing flips.
later on in the day, we visited the site of where monseñor romero was killed. there was a nun that was about 4 foot 6 who told us about him, but when we were walking to romero's home, she approached me and asked mewhere i was from and if i could speak spanish, but i told her that my spanish was not the greatest so she started speaking english and asked me again where i was from, so i told her where and that my dad was from india and that my mother's family comes from norway and germany and she smiled really sweetly and said that i was very special.
i've never thought of myself that way before...it definately took my by surprise and it made me smile a lot...i asked her about herself and she told me that she was from honduras and so was her family and that she was very happy to be in elsalvador...during this whole time, she grabbed my hand and held it...one of my classmates took a cute picture of us =) sister benedita told us the story of romero and how he had changed her life and was still present inher life through the people he has touched in life and in death and it was so beautiful that i started to cry again. she had the most amazing eyes...they were kind of gray...but not the clouded over gray look that old people get...they were just gray...like a wise, powerful color of gray.
------------------------
*CO-MADRES is an organization that is made up of mostly women who went around looking for the disappeared. they returned the bodies to the families so they could properly bury and grieve for those who were murdered. they also took pictures and documented on everyone they found so that they could seek legal justice for the crimes that were committed.they and their families were also victims of kidnapping, torture, and murder at the hands of the salvadoran government and national army.
the army was trained at the school of the america's (which is located in the u.s.) and our government/along with the c.i.a. also paid for the arms/supplies for the salvadoran army with u.s. money and money that wasmade by drug trafficing done by the c.i.a.
*friday, 09 january, 2004 (journal entry)
my heart sheds millions of tears as i listen to two incredible women's personal stories about their struggles during the Arms Conflict and after. Alicia had lost half of her family and was physically tortured...we heard the story of her sixteen year old son and how he was brutally murdered because he helped the families of the disappeared and murdered find information and seek justice for the crimes made against them and their loved ones.
during one of the times that alicia was kidnapped and tortured, she was given a forced abortion. she was 5 months pregnant...but because they beat her and tortured her, she lost her baby. Patricia was only 10 years old when she became involved with the CO-MADRES. a few years later, she was kidnapped, raped and tortured, then released. she still stuck with the organization and was kidnapped, again, and raped and tortured again....the pain in these women's eyes as they told their stories was...so intense...yet, the still told us. despite the fact that it must feel worse than pouring salt into an open wound...the CO-MADRES were only trying to help those in need (as well as themselves) find peace and justice and they suffered greatly for it.
they photographed everything they saw and kept track of how many people had been killed or disappeared.i saw a lot of the photos of the murdered. it was so horrible. i was so shocked at what i was looking at that all i could do was shake and keep looking. i needed to see all of these images...these realities...i owed it to the people who suffered under the hands of my own government. i needed to see because i need to be able to share the Salvadoran struggle with everyone back home. so, i forced myself to look at decapitated men, women, and children.
i forced myself to look at extremities that were no longer recognizable because these men, women and children tried to protect themselves from the guns, acid, fire, fists, knives, boots, etc. i saw children with the skin on their chests and backs stipped clean to the bone because acid was poured on them. some people were run over by tanks, someset on fire, some were viciously tortured before finally being alllowed death...to give them peace. women and young girls were brutally raped infront of family members and men and young boys were beaten in their testicles..some had their penises cut of and shoved down their mouths so that they not only bled to death, but suffocated as well. fingertips were burned with lighters, acid poured into eyes...these are the pictures that i saw..this is the reality of el salvador...this is what i will never forget. this is what so many people back home don't know about...and if they do know, they aren't doing a very good job letting everyone else know. this needs to be heard...this can't be forgotten...or it will be repeated again.
but then again, things like this happened during world war two...so can we stop it from happening?
i don't know...maybe. but i can'tjust sit and be complacent. i can't do nothing.
-------------------------------------
wednesday, 14 january, 2004 (email)
so, when i was at this co-operative community called nueva esperanza (newhope) we spent an afternoon with the youth of the community and i had an interesting experience with one of the boys that i met. he is the same ageas me and his name is william. he asked me what i am studying and i told him sociology and political science and then he responded by telling me that he can´t go to university because there is not enough money to send all of the youth. i really didn´t know how to respond to him, but i called cesar (our translator) over and asked him to tell william that i want to go back to the u.s. and let everyone know the struggles and realities of the people of el salvador so that we can create awareness and help make change for the people...but he didn´t really look very impressed....then i felt like an arrogant u.s. american. i felt really bad about that...
i want everyone to know that i am sincere and that i don´t want to magically fix everything for them, but rather work side by side with them in theirstruggle to help things improve because i recognize the part that i have played, through my government and globalization, in their struggle and i want it to be different. i don´t want to bring the people up to the standards of the u.s. because that would be insane and the world would explode if everyone had two-story homes and 3 car garages, etc.
but instead, i want people in the u.s. to stop being like adolescents that always are wanting more and more things and not recognizing the selfishness and over consumption. i want the u.s. to grow up and be adults and start being a nurturing nation that will work side by side with its own people and the other nations that we have involved ourselves with.that is what i have learned today from a really cool nun. she is from jersey and rocks. she said things like, "if you still think that god has a penis, then you need to grow up"
...this woman was amazing and very refreshing and inspiring... it was good to talk to a fellow u.s. citizen and talk about the struggles of the people in el salvador. i really enjoyed her energy and passion for life and peace and justice...but it isn't just the u.s. that needs to change. it's every other nation that is acting like that. we need to be a nurturing country. we need to stop this selfishness...the gluttenous behavior...we need to start caring.
if we'resuch a huge super-power, then why aren't we doing better things around the world?
----------------------------------------
reflections/conclusions
...basic human rights...what are they? what do we define them as? i think of basic human rights being the following:
enough food to eat everyday.
now, this may not have to mean that everyonehas the option to have all sorts of food available to them all thetime...no, enough food (according to me) constitutes as 3 meals a day that are sufficient enough to give the nutrients that we all need to survive.
access to clean water.
this whole business of privatizing water is bullshit. i'm sorry, but it is. we all need water to survive...clean water.
education (at least k-12, but i'm all for higher education for all).
why do you think that there's crime and gangs, etc. when there are so many kids that could be in school, out on the streets trying to survive. this doesn't make any sense?
access to basic health care.
i'm not saying that doctors and nursesshould work for free...but there shouldn't be children dying from diarrhea and other preventable diseases. that is just ridiculous.i know that all of these things are more complicated than i'm making it out to be...but at the same time, i don't think that they are that hard to provide for people....the answers are often times simple...but organizations like the IMF (international monetary fund) and the world bank are making it harder for so many people world wide to have these things...and all for what? money? again, this is bullshit.
i'm not againstprivate businesses, but i'm against monopolies. i'm against 3 families owning 90% of the wealth. i'm against the whole fact that only 1/3rd ofthe world is really "developed" and only because it takes from the rest of the 2/3rds of the world in order to be developed. 2/3rds of the world should not be in poverty, should not have basic human rights denied to them.
i'm sorry if this sounds like i'm ranting and raving...just kidding. i'm not sorry.
i'm pissed off. i'm frustrated, i'm feeling helpless/hopeless/angry.....but at the same time i feel motivated/inspired/pressed for time to act.
i'm impatient and i want change. i know that change takes time, but i'm tired of sitting around.
i want to act and that's what i plan on doing. i'm going to tell as that i can about my experiences...i'm going to continue my education and i'm going into foreign policy because, frankly...the u.s.foreign policy that we currently has...well, for lack of a better word, SUCKS.
so, i'm infiltrating it from the inside and i'm going to make change. and to all those who tell me i can't do it...well, piss off. i don't need your encouragement. i'm going to do it, and you're going to have to come up with a lot more to change my mind or stop me.
ok. i'll end my email now. thank you so much for reading it all the way through.
i know a lot of it was graphic and not exactly easy to digest...i haven't fully dealt or processed everything that i've experienced/learned/etc...i guess with time it will get easier to deal with...but then again, maybe it won't. if anyone would like to talk more about my trip with me, i'll be glad to share...but remember that this was not a vacation...and some of the things that i learned are hard for me to share...just please be patient with me.
peace,
meghan
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