This is a poem that was written by a Fuller student about the tragedy of the realities of human trafficking after watching the documentary “Call + Response” Please read this words below:
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This poem was inspired by the documentary, "Call and Response." As an artist I understand that my gift is for the sake of the freedom of others. While I stand frustrated at the reality that I may not be there to PHYSICALLY free those who are oppressed, I remain thankful that I may set free the mind and spirit of the person who does. Cornel West exclaims that "justice is what love looks like in public", may this poem be but a small expression to the millions who have yet to see love in this form or in any form. May this poem serve as a small way of me saying, I see you, and I wish to love you publicly, and do you justice.
He’ll Probably keep going
By Mark Anthony Chase
She was a slave to his freedom
As he penetrated her purity
Virtually oblivous to the bleeding
And somehow her screaming
Gets lost in translation
And sounds something like, "touch me baby",
But how could he touch her she's just a baby
As tears touch testosterone
Innonence Ignites Erections
There's Something Sadistically Sinful
At this intersection
Where Powerful Meets Powerless
And More or less showers it with indifference,
The Bodies are so close but the souls remain distant-
See, if he could see
More than Flesh
More than Lips
More than under Developed Breasts,
And Could actually see the pain as it pumps beneath her chest...................
He would probably Keep Going, Knowing
That for his moment spent in the erotic
She was spiraling towards the irreconcilably chaotic
He would probably keep going, Knowing
That no language could articulate the pain that her womb felt
which literally had no room left to soften the atrocity
He would probaly keep going, knowing,
That no God, No Lord, No Ancestor Nor Ancient Spirit would approve,
of his desire to take and her inablity to choose,
He would probably keep going, Knowing,
That she would never be the same
And that HE, might forever BE, etched on the canvas of her MEMORY
as a permanent stain would he refrain ??? No he would remain
And probably keep going, Pushing and Sighing
Perfecting his domination
Losing Himself inside the vulnerablity of her childhood yes he would,
Probably Keep Going, Thrusting and Heaving
Her into a place of disbelieving
where dreams don't come true skies aren't blue and little girls don't get to dress up as princesses
but his consicience isn't as sensitive as the skin on his penis is so he keeps going,
knowing, that when it's over for him
it's just beginning for her
Begnning to hurt
The water, in her eyes, is beginning to blurr
Hatred, Despair, is beginning to stir
It's beginning again for her as he
is beginning to leave
and is replaced by another indifferent face and he.......
Probably won't stop either....
But neither will I
And rest assured one day our destinies will collide
Where inspiration and action are alive
Where the passion of the people reside
And one day he'll begin
And someone will take her side,
And He'll probably try to run,
But he'll have nowhere to hide,
And inside that little girls heart
Is a dream that just came true, a sky that still is blue,
And someone to free her and tell her........ she really is a princess
11.20.2008
11.11.2008
Young girl stoned for being raped
I know this happens, but it does not make my heart break any less. This is one of my most disturbing stories I have read in a while.
From the Child Rights Information Network
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Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was killed on Monday, 27 October, by a group of 50 men who stoned her to death in a stadium in the southern port of Kismayu, in front of around 1,000 spectators.
Some of the Somali journalists who had reported she was 23 have told Amnesty International that this age was based upon a judgment of her age purely from her physical appearance. But contrary to those initial news reports, the girl stoned to death in Somalia last week was 13, not 23.
She was accused of adultery in breach of Islamic law but, her father and other sources told said that she had in fact been raped by three men, and had attempted to report this rape to the al-Shabab militia who control Kismayo, and it was this act that resulted in her being accused of adultery and detained. None of the men she accused of rape were arrested.
“This was not justice, nor was it an execution. This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo,” said David Copeman, Amnesty International's Somalia Campaigner.
“This killing is yet another human rights abuse committed by the combatants to the conflict in Somalia, and again demonstrates the importance of international action to investigate and document such abuses, through an International Commission of Inquiry.”
Amnesty International has learned that:
• Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was reported as being 23, based upon a judgment on her physical appearance, according to one of the journalists who had reported the stoning. Her actual age was confirmed as 13 to Amnesty International by other sources, including her father.
• Her father said she had only traveled to Kismayo from Hagardeer refugee camp in north eastern Kenya three months earlier.
• She was detained by militia of the Kismayo authorities, a coalition of Al-shabab and clan militias. During this time, she was reportedly extremely distressed, with some individuals stating she had become mentally unstable.
• A truckload of stones was brought into the stadium to be used in the stoning.
• At one point during the stoning, nurses were instructed to check whether Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was still alive when buried in the ground. They removed her from the ground, declared that she was, and she was replaced in the hole where she had been buried for the stoning to continue.
• An individual calling himself Sheik Hayakalah, was quoted on Radio Shabelle saying: “The evidence came from her side and she officially confirmed her guilt, while she told us that she is happy with the punishment under Islamic law.'' In contradiction to this claim, a number of eyewitnesses said she struggled with her captors and had to be forcibly carried into the stadium.
• Inside the stadium, militia members opened fire when some of the witnesses to the killing attempted to save her life, and shot dead a boy who was a bystander. An al-Shabab spokesperson was later reported to have apologized for the death of the child, and said the militia member would be punished.
Background
This killing of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow demonstrates the cruelty and the inherent discrimination against women of this punishment.
The reports on this killing should be understood within the climate of fear that armed insurgent groups such as al-Shabab have created within the areas they control in Somalia. Government officials, journalists and human rights defenders face death threats and killing if they are perceived to have spoken against al-Shabab, who have waged a campaign of intimidation against the Somali people through such killings.
Since the death, a number of individuals said they have fled from Kismayo out of fear of suffering a similar fate to Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow.
From the Child Rights Information Network
----------------------------
Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was killed on Monday, 27 October, by a group of 50 men who stoned her to death in a stadium in the southern port of Kismayu, in front of around 1,000 spectators.
Some of the Somali journalists who had reported she was 23 have told Amnesty International that this age was based upon a judgment of her age purely from her physical appearance. But contrary to those initial news reports, the girl stoned to death in Somalia last week was 13, not 23.
She was accused of adultery in breach of Islamic law but, her father and other sources told said that she had in fact been raped by three men, and had attempted to report this rape to the al-Shabab militia who control Kismayo, and it was this act that resulted in her being accused of adultery and detained. None of the men she accused of rape were arrested.
“This was not justice, nor was it an execution. This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo,” said David Copeman, Amnesty International's Somalia Campaigner.
“This killing is yet another human rights abuse committed by the combatants to the conflict in Somalia, and again demonstrates the importance of international action to investigate and document such abuses, through an International Commission of Inquiry.”
Amnesty International has learned that:
• Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was reported as being 23, based upon a judgment on her physical appearance, according to one of the journalists who had reported the stoning. Her actual age was confirmed as 13 to Amnesty International by other sources, including her father.
• Her father said she had only traveled to Kismayo from Hagardeer refugee camp in north eastern Kenya three months earlier.
• She was detained by militia of the Kismayo authorities, a coalition of Al-shabab and clan militias. During this time, she was reportedly extremely distressed, with some individuals stating she had become mentally unstable.
• A truckload of stones was brought into the stadium to be used in the stoning.
• At one point during the stoning, nurses were instructed to check whether Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was still alive when buried in the ground. They removed her from the ground, declared that she was, and she was replaced in the hole where she had been buried for the stoning to continue.
• An individual calling himself Sheik Hayakalah, was quoted on Radio Shabelle saying: “The evidence came from her side and she officially confirmed her guilt, while she told us that she is happy with the punishment under Islamic law.'' In contradiction to this claim, a number of eyewitnesses said she struggled with her captors and had to be forcibly carried into the stadium.
• Inside the stadium, militia members opened fire when some of the witnesses to the killing attempted to save her life, and shot dead a boy who was a bystander. An al-Shabab spokesperson was later reported to have apologized for the death of the child, and said the militia member would be punished.
Background
This killing of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow demonstrates the cruelty and the inherent discrimination against women of this punishment.
The reports on this killing should be understood within the climate of fear that armed insurgent groups such as al-Shabab have created within the areas they control in Somalia. Government officials, journalists and human rights defenders face death threats and killing if they are perceived to have spoken against al-Shabab, who have waged a campaign of intimidation against the Somali people through such killings.
Since the death, a number of individuals said they have fled from Kismayo out of fear of suffering a similar fate to Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow.
11.06.2008
The freedom awards
If you do not yet know about The Human Trafficking Project - you need to. I found this through them, you also need to know about this. Now is the time to acknowledge those that inspire and encourage you to do what you do to fight injustice.
Free the Slaves is pleased to announce that they are currently accepting nominations for the 2009 Freedom Awards.
The Freedom Awards celebrate the vision and courage of community-based organizations, survivors of slavery, individual leaders and young adult anti-slavery activists who are showing the way to a world without slavery. Please help by making a nomination. Please also pass along this invitation to anyone who might be able to nominate suitable organizations or individuals. Self-nominations are welcome.
Each award has its own requirements and nomination form. To get more information and the correct form, visit the awards webpages: www.thefreedomawards.net or send an email to: freedomawards@freetheslaves.net
The deadline for nominations is Monday, December 1, 2008.
The awards will be given out during the fall of 2009. Awardees will be flown to the USA for an inspirational evening that honors the vision and courage of slavery survivors, community based organizations bringing slaves to freedom, individual leaders, young adult activists and communicators spreading the word about slavery.
Free the Slaves is pleased to announce that they are currently accepting nominations for the 2009 Freedom Awards.
The Freedom Awards celebrate the vision and courage of community-based organizations, survivors of slavery, individual leaders and young adult anti-slavery activists who are showing the way to a world without slavery. Please help by making a nomination. Please also pass along this invitation to anyone who might be able to nominate suitable organizations or individuals. Self-nominations are welcome.
Each award has its own requirements and nomination form. To get more information and the correct form, visit the awards webpages: www.thefreedomawards.net or send an email to: freedomawards@freetheslaves.net
The deadline for nominations is Monday, December 1, 2008.
The awards will be given out during the fall of 2009. Awardees will be flown to the USA for an inspirational evening that honors the vision and courage of slavery survivors, community based organizations bringing slaves to freedom, individual leaders, young adult activists and communicators spreading the word about slavery.
11.05.2008
11.04.2008
Say no to violence
This link was passed on to me by a friend.
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The link to the microsite for United Nations Development Fund for Women is HERE. Click on it and add your name to the list of those standing up against violence against women in the "just say no campaign". No one's email will be spammed; they're just in charge of collecting the addresses and unless you check the 'keep me informed' box, your emails will be deleted.
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The link to the microsite for United Nations Development Fund for Women is HERE. Click on it and add your name to the list of those standing up against violence against women in the "just say no campaign". No one's email will be spammed; they're just in charge of collecting the addresses and unless you check the 'keep me informed' box, your emails will be deleted.
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