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Thursday, July 19, 2007

A QUIET REVOLUTION - Part 2

Please read Part I first by scrolling down.

The Peacemakers, Inc. hosted the Third International Women’s Peace Conference held in Dallas, Texas from July 10-15, 2007 and was first incorporated in 1987 with the first conference being held in 1988. Founder of the Peacemakers, Inc. was Vivian Castleberry, an editor and reporter for the now defunct Dallas Times Herald newspaper for 28 years. The current president of Peacemakers, Inc. is Carol Crabtree Donovan; a practicing attorney in Dallas and this is why the International Women’s Peace Conferences is held in Dallas, Texas. I found the women of Dallas open-minded, warm and dedicated to making a difference in spite of the fact that there was no media coverage and this was commented on. I find it hard to think this was an oversight. Discrimination?

The broad spectrum of topics covered in the workshops and presentations was more than addressing the atrocities of the world. Education was a focal point and the women in the third world countries want education, technology and communication skills. The conference was also about women reaching out and helping women. It was also about using non-violent methods to settle conflicts.

Before the opening session, we gathered in the great open area of the conference center where each of us was given large flags representing every country, island, and protectorate in the world. I was handed the flag of Georgia (Russia). We began moving in a circle towards a microphone and when we reached it, we gave the name of our flag’s country and everyone said three times: “May peace prevail in ____.” We then moved on and handed our flag to a woman who placed it in a holder. By the end, we had a tight circle of flags. It was very profound and moving.

I learned about the United Nations from Gillian Sorenson, former UN Secretary-General and now Senior Advisor at the UN Foundation, a national advocate on matters relating to the UN. I realized after listening to Sorenson, how ignorant I have been about the United Nations.

During her session, she said: “This is a critical time in the world. Goodwill is not enough. Prayer is not enough. It requires action.” War and conflict have reached new depths and spawned cultures of violence in Africa.

Bigotry and hate are all learned. In the past 13 years 3-1/2 million people that include children, women and men have died in Africa. Women need to find their voices. Women must be an agent for change. Women must raise awareness and funds. Women must hold governments accountable. We can counter-balance. We must find work for the men and women. We cannot wish. We must look for kindred spirits…

Optimism and confidence is contagious. Pessimism is contagious. We must begin in our own communities. We must speak up to the media and our governments. Do not be intimidated. Research and then name and shame the manufacturers of weapons and oil. In the U.S. there have been and are manufacturers of land mines. Find out who the war profiteers are. In other word, ‘knowledge is power.’

Organize, teach, speak, and dramatize. There are 20 million refugees. A mature nation earns its reputation. Sorenson spoke of the United Nations. (http://www.un.org/) There are non-governmental organizations involved. There are 193 countries that belong to the UN. Around the world there is a leadership deficit. We need vision. Sorenson then spoke of Nelson Mandela. She quoted him: “Education is the most powerful tool you can use to change the world.”

Sorenson spoke of the UN Association of the U.S. (www.unausa.org/) - a non-profit organization that promotes education because it creates confidence, freedom and opportunity. An example is a woman from a tribe in Africa. She now has a cell phone and when she has a goat she wants to sell, she calls other villages and finds out the price goats are selling for. Now she has information and knows what to ask for her goat when she takes it to market.

Peace begins at home. See what needs to be done in your own community. Educate yourself about what is happening in the world. Pick an issue and commit.

There are 13 global environmental treaties that have gone into force in the last three decades – but the U.S. is party to only part of them. Why? The Senate refuses to ratify them and this means the U.S. has no role in their implementation. The treaties that have yet to be ratified are:
· Bonn Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species since 1983.
· Convention on Biological Diversity in force since 1993.
· The Kyoto Protocol
· Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.
· Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

Sorenson recommends voting. Go to your local offices of your U.S. senators and representatives. Call and find out when they will be home and take a delegation.

Sorenson spoke at a second session. She has been in senior positions pertaining to the United Nations for over 20 years. There are civil societies – non-governmental organizations that are called NGO’s. These organizations are designed, organized and led by citizens, i.e. citizens groups. Civil societies have influence and power. Example: The Rotary Club has worked with the UN for ten years to eradicate polio and it is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Their next issue is Clean Water. What is happening is that NGO’s are doing what governments won’t do. The UN global meetings for women have connected women globally.

What are the assets of NGO’s? Their assets are the media, lobbying and know how to build support in Congress. They can push, prod and shame governments. The UN is not perfect, but it is the best we have and we can make it better.

We can give an issue a face, i.e. land mines. Go after the manufacturers. Under the Human Rights division of the UN there are 150 NGO’s. The UN cannot respond to 150 groups who have differences of opinions. Unfortunately between NGO’s there is competition, wasted energy. Do your homework. The most recent issue is the Child Soldier issue.

There has been bad press regarding Family Planning. There is propaganda that the UN is for abortion. This is not so. Once the UN funds one of 100 countries asking for help, it is up to that country to determine to be pro or anti-abortion. The UN is neutral.

The U.S. hasn’t given a dime in six years. Regarding the International Criminal Court – the U.S. is absent, but has asked the Court to prosecute the Sudan. Soft power versus Hard power. Hard power is might and guns. Soft power is persuasion and as an example, it is values and moral issues. And then there is Smart Power, which is leadership. NGO’s for the most part fall under this umbrella. It has the elements of compassion and intellect.

People have power if they become organized and focused. There must be accountability. There needs to be more women in political office. In the U.S. Senate only 16% are women and in the House of Representatives there are only 16% women.

The UN Family Population Fund – the U.S. had $30 million in 2002 earmarked and Pres. Bush has withheld this.

The speaker from the League of Women Voters told us that politics affect all aspects of our life. The most effective ways to contact your representatives are 1) Personal visit; 2) Faxing; 3) Telephone. Letters may take up to 3 months to reach national representatives due to the anthrax scare. On-line petitions have very little impact. E-mailing – your email may get lost in the shuffle of the thousands they receive.

Do your homework. Know the issue. Have talking points of who, what, etc. Be ready to listen. Know the financial implications of what you are asking for. Be courteous. Be brief. Shake hands. Write a think-you note. Do a follow-up and build up a relationship. Thank of creating a coalition of groups in your community. Talk to unelected people of authority also.

The above model is suitable to use on any level of local, county, state and national representatives. Most of the people in prison fall into 3 categories: 1) childhood abuse, 2) substance abuse, 3) illiteracy. Do they have a positive role model in their life?

I overheard two women talking and one asked, “Where are the people from the Sixties? The reply was, “They went to the corporate world for comfort and now they are afraid of being poor.” I did not interrupt, but I thought those answers were only part of it. They had their leaders, i.e. John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinated and the fear struck home as it was intended to do.

I heard mention of Open Source Technology – free technology and found this site: http://www.oftc.net/oftc/ I attended a workshop titled: Leveraging for Technology. This was put on by WorldPulse Media http://www.worldpulsemedia.com/. Within this organization is another tool for women called Pulse Wire. Utilizing the Internet enables women to be a great force in the media. We need voices for women and children of ethnic cleansing.

Women in Afghanistan are making baby bouncers out of rubber tires. We have to move from giving advice to listening to what women need and want to build their own websites. Jensine Larson, the founder and CEO of WorldPulse, is building her website to enable women to be powerful in their own right. She is using Craig’s List as a model. Women everywhere are clamoring to be heard – to connect. They are risking and daring to be bold.

Larson has been to Burma where she has seen first-hand the results of ethnic cleansing. The Burmese Army of 4000 members is known as the “School of Rape.” Betty Williams told the story of a little girl she interviewed at a relocation center. The girl was under the age of 12 and in her village had to watch her mother and father dig their own graves. The soldiers then raped her mother and then had the parents stand facing the open graves and shot them in the back of the head. The little girl and her brother had to cover the graves with dirt and the girl was then raped. The soldiers led them on a forced march through the jungles and she was given 1 small bowl of rice a day. When she stumbled and fell, she was raped, beaten and forced to march. This lasted for days. Williams said that the girl has since died.

An outstanding presenter was Sharon McCord of the Peace X Peace non-profit organization. She gave a list of Internet resources to enable women and men to become web savvy. You can find out more by going to http://www.peacexpeace.org/

I attended a workshop regarding genital mutilation. I personally heard the story from a 29-year-old woman from southern Kenya. Lucy came to the U.S. ten months ago and her mission is to make people aware of the horribleness of genital mutilation and perhaps something will be done. She said it is a cultural thing and not religious. It is prevalent in Africa. In her tribe they took 29 young girls when Lucy was age 3 and performed the ceremony of genital circumcision. She was tied town and a rope put in her mouth while the surgery was performed with an unclean instrument. She screamed from the pain and so did the others. Today only 4 of the original 29 are alive. At this age she was betrothed to a man who gave her father some goats.

Her tribe also had another custom. It wasn’t proper for a girl to have flat breasts so they took her down to the river and attached an animal to her nipples and they were stretched until her breasts became enlarged and over the years grew quite large. In another tribe it was the opposite. The girls had heavy iron weights put on their breasts so they wouldn’t grow. She is now in constant pain.

At age 9 she moved out of her parents house and lived with her grandmother until she was age 12 and married to the 54 year-old man who gave her father 50 cows for her. She was wife number five. After her so-called wedding night, his other wives cut her vagina and while she screamed from pain and bled, he entered her and laughed because he thought she was enjoying it. Between ages 12 to 15 she had two forced abortions and she finally found the courage to run away. She became an activist and became known in Tanzania where she encouraged women to declare their freedom. She was caught and taken to a forest where she was raped and a coke bottle shoved up into her vagina. Lucy is beautiful and laughs. When asked why she laughs so much, she said that if she didn’t that she would die.

And then there is Odette from Rwanda. I met her the first day of the conference. She has beautiful mahogany skin and arrived at the conference from Costa Rica where she received her Masters degree from the university there. She originally was from Uganda and came from an extremely poor family. Somehow her father managed to send her to the mission school for 3 years and she excelled. One day he told her she could not go back to school. When she asked why, he told her that she was a girl. He had to save the money for her brother to go to school. She screamed and cried so much that he took a cane to her and beat her.

When the head of the mission school met her in the village, he asked her why she hadn’t returned to school. She lied and told him she was a refugee and had no money. A Catholic priest overheard the conversation and he left money for her education. She managed to complete high school and continued to seek knowledge. I’m not sure at what age she met her husband, but he was in the government service of Tanzania and became ambassador to Japan. Odette shook her head in amazement while telling me her story. “Can you imagine? I became an ambassador’s wife!” She also was amazed that she had attended a dinner for the senior Bush when he was President.

Then there was Linda from Dallas – a schoolteacher. When she began teaching, she told them to give her all the problems. They did and she taught them love – self-love. Some of them went on to become engineers, lawyers, and other professions. She is making a difference.

Rita Johnson went to Costa Rica 15 years ago and in that time has worked with the Costa Rican government to establish a Peace Army. The President of Costa Rica is Óscar Arias Sánchez who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his negotiations in Central America. Costa Rica is the only country in the world that has no military army. Instead they have a Peace Army. Costa Rica is a model for non-violent negotiations and a model for peace.

Each of can make a difference in our own way. It only takes one to make a difference.

Bettye Johnson – Part 3 to come.

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