A faint glimmer in Mogadishu

As I've written before, we are so immersed in all the bad news and suffering that is going on in the countries that we focus on, that sometimes we forget that there are bright lights of hope.  

Somali National Theater reopens after 20 years.

Then:

And now:

It's hard to see the theater now, and imagine all that it, and the people of Mogadishu have been through, and yet, this story gives me SO much joy.  I'm not sure it marks any special turning in Somalia's history, but it is a beautiful and hopeful moment and I wanted to share that with you.

Once in a while, this happens...

We work with a lot of people through One Million Bones and our Students Rebuild partnership, everyone from school age children to adults.  Not very often, but once in a while, we find that there are adults who aren't comfortable with the subject we are talking about, especially when it comes to young children.

We understand that.  

But the root causes of genocide exist everywhere, and there are ways you can talk to children about what's happening around the world in a way that they can understand, and in a way that relates to their lives.  

We talk about virtues.

We talk about acceptance, tolerance and appreciation of other people.

We talk about resolving conflicts with words.

We talk about teasing, bullying and standing up for people.

OMB has resources on our website for teachers and other adults interested in intergrating the project into their classrooms or other educational work.  We also provide links to some of the most respected sources for teaching about genocide and intolerance.  You can find it all under the educators tab.

What we think is most important is to recognize that children are brilliant beings who want to know about and understand the world.  It's important to share all the beauty with them, but we have to figure out how to teach them about the other things as well. The world changes when children learn early on how to be different, how to be better, how not to make the same mistakes of the people who came before them.  

This is a quote from an article that Naomi had on the Huffington Post last week that really captures it:

"Out of [our] work come hundreds of conversations about what we value, human rights, our global connectedness, and personal responsibility. In New Orleans many times these conversations lead to stories of personal encounters with violence; unnecessary and unexplainable violence that some of these students are left to consider and deal with every day in their own communities. One of my favorite stories was from two young girls who were sitting next to each other in class. They explained how they didn’t like each other at all when they first met but were persuaded by another classmate to get to know each other. Now they are best friends, and their love for each other is absolutely visible. When one of the girls became emotional recalling a personal account of intolerance and violence in her family, her best friend wrapped her arms around her and held on for a long while.

These children completely understand the idea behind One Million Bones.  They made their own bones, from their own stories, but recognized that they were also making them for people all over the world who were not seen or valued in their communities or by their governments. I promised that we would bring their bones to Washington so that world leaders could bear witness to their actions."

What do you think?  How have you talked to young children about difficult subjects?  

About Wednesday, and one of our heroes...

Hello friends,

Sorry to miss my Wednesday post -- sometimes things in the office just take over.  Today for example, the NM Forum for Youth in Community brought a group of Public Allies here for a training.  We talked for a while this morning about leadership, non profit work, genocide and making a difference, and now they're making bones. There's lots of laughing and talking going on. And there are lots of bones being made. It's the best kind of work we do!

Just so you know, Wednesday was One Million Bone's two year anniversary.  Yep that's right, on March 14th, 2010, we launched this wild vision into the world with an event at the Harwood Art Center.  150,000 bones later, we are making our way to Washington, D.C., and we are so happy YOU are on the road with us!

We also want to send a Friday shout-out to one of our heroes:  George Clooney.  He recently traveled to Sudan to bear witness to the crimes being committed against the people of South Kordofan and Blue Nile by the Sudaneses government, then he testified in front of Congress with John Prendergast, and now, bless his heart, he's gotten himself arrested in a protest in front of the Sudanese Embassay in Washington.  He walks the walk and we are grateful to him for using his celebrity for such important work.  Thank you, George Clooney, for all you've done to make a difference in Sudan up to now, and now.  And thank you to your remarkable dad too! 

Have a great weekend!

Sharing on a Monday

Hey everyone, happy Monday to you all!

Today I have two things to share.  

The first is a link to OMB founder and artistic director, Naomi Natale's Huffington Post blog piece.  That's right, The Huff Po!

The second link is to one of our very wonderful Amy Biehl intern's student project video about her internship. Risa's finishing up high school this year.  Imagine what she's going to do when she gets out in the world!?!

I hope you will see your way to sharing these two wonderful pieces with your networks as well.

Friday call to action!

If you remember, on February 24th, we posted about the escalating crises in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states of South Sudan.

Today, we received this email from Act for Sudan:

They Can't Wait!

The Sudanese Government is engaged in a full-scale military assault on the people of the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk. To address these and other grave concerns, Congressman James McGovern (D-MA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) have introduced H.R. 4169, The Sudan Peace, Security and Accountability Act of 2012. 

Please ask your Congressperson to co-sponsor the Sudan Peace, Security and Accountability Act of 2012. 

See video here.   <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLetZbzvVOs&amp;feature=youtu.be>  
 
Click here to learn more and to take action.  Please help spread the word!

 This is a one page summary of the bill:

H.R. 4169, the Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2012

Summary of Legislation

The “Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2012” would create a truly comprehensive strategy for ending serious human rights violations, promoting democratic reform, and establishing lasting peace in Sudan. Specifically, the legislation —

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Requires the Administration and all relevant agencies to work together and create a comprehensive strategic plan focused on all of Sudan rather than only a particular region, given that the Government of Sudan’s serious human rights violations have continually shifted to different parts of the country over the last decade;

Addresses the current humanitarian crisis in South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Abyei, while continuing to assist in Darfur and other parts of Sudan;

Increases engagement with other stakeholders with influence in Sudan;

Creates a broad-reaching sanctions regime to target any government or person** who support or assist in the commission of serious human rights violations, including those who:

o provide any military equipment to the Government of Sudan; o contribute $500,000 or more of goods or other support to the Government of Sudan or its

proxies and which directly and significantly contribute to the commission of serious

human rights violations; o interfere with humanitarian aid; o impede or threaten peace or stability in Sudan; or o fail to execute international arrest warrants against Government of Sudan officials.

Prevents sanctioned persons and certain family members from entering the United States and permits the removal of those already here;

Extends to all of Sudan existing sanctions regimes included in prior enacted legislation that were specific only for “Darfur”;

Blocks and prohibits sanctioned persons from transacting in all property, including goods and technology, within the jurisdiction of the United States; and

Creates tough but fair benchmarks for ending sanctions if the Government of Sudan halts the violence against its own people and works for genuine peace and democracy.

** In this bill, the definition of “person” means any “individual, group, entity, association, corporation, organization, partnership, agency, instrumentality, multilateral institution or financial institution”, which is the definition of the term under section 1701 of the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act (PL 110-174), and includes boards of directors and executives.