Everyday life

Today I'm sharing a link to a photo series looking at everyday life in Dadaab refugee camp where approximately 440,000 people, mostly Somalis, live.  These photos, from Al Jazeera English, show how the most basic necessities of housing, transportation, commerce, recreation, and custom and culture are actualized in a refugee camp; how something is carved and created out of so much nothing.

Human beings have an indomitable spirit, but even the most unconquerable must struggle with this reality day-in and day-out.  Surely it is worth our best efforts and resources to help make Somalia a successful state to which these people can return. What would we see from them then?  And isn't that the best we can offer everyone on this planet, the possibility to create their best life.  

Our link today was researched by Nina Lawrin, and we thank her!  And thanks to you for reading!  

Guest post

Today's post comes from OMB-NOLA's intern Leigh Durham.  One Million Bones is all about connections, between individuals and our cause, between individuals and each other, between organizations.  This blog reflects on one of the organizations and the great kids that are part of it that have become integral to the OMB NOLA project.

Leigh writes:

As we begin the New Year, we wanted to reflect on the ways in which art and activism can produce a powerful impact when combined. In New Orleans, we have partnered with a group that exemplifies this connection: YAYA, or Young Aspirations/Young Artists. The after-school program works with the city’s youth and uses artistic expression as a means of gaining leadership and entrepreneurial experience, as well as benefiting the community. Students also have access to wide variety of cultural opportunities, including travel in the U.S. and abroad, during which young artists have the chance to visit art museums, exhibit art, and even sell their work.

Locally, YAYA artists engage the community by leading the URBAN HEROES workshop program, visiting city schools and spreading the power of art to other students. Another aspect of the YAYA curriculum involves a social justice initiative, SilenceIsViolence. The anti-violence campaign and YAYA have partnered to hold Art Speaks events as a way to frankly discuss issues relating to crime, drugs, climate change, and other relevant issues while simultaneously brainstorming a public art installation in response. We’re inspired by the accomplishments of these young artists to develop their skills, and react to community problems with thoughtful dialogue and beautiful artwork. As founder Jana Napoli stated in the program’s initial vision: "Given the right tools and a fertile environment, creative young people can do extraordinary things."

Our OMB NOLA team also wants to share this great news:

…a new studio location! In order to accommodate the growing number of volunteers as we move towards our installation in March, a larger space was necessary. One Million Bones NOLA is now located at 720 Carondelet St., New Orleans, LA 70130.

And we know the kiln is up and firing.  Look out, there will be bones everywhere!

Following on the heels of Wednesday's blog

This article by Thor Halvorssen showed up in one of my google alerts today, just in time for a blog post.  I think it's timely for one reason and important for another.  

It's timely because it reiterates the point of Wednesday's blog which was that politics (not necessarily government, but absolutely politics) is probably the biggest deterent to doing good in the world. It's important because it makes the case for the essential nature of projects like One Million Bones and the indispensibility of the various NGOs working in the anti-genocide field to bring genocides and mass atrocities to an end. 

All of us at One Million Bones are gratefull for the support, energy and kindness that is shown us everyday.  When the change comes, and it will, we will all be there together.

Some thoughts about Darfur and Sudan

As we mentioned, over the course of this next year we'll be looking into and comparing with our own lives some of the everyday activities that make up life in the refugee camps.  But we also have to think about the emotional life of the people who are living in these camps.  Some who remember their life before; some who were born into life in the camps.

This blogpost and video comes from our friends at i-ACT and United to End Genocide. 

We draw this conclusion:  Our U.S. policy about genocide, humanitarian crises and intervention is political.  We want to see it move beyond that.  We want it to be about people who need help.  Granted, there are SO many discussions we can have about this stance, and we've had most, if not all, of them.  Money, imperialism, power, resources, protectionism, police of the world, people solving their own problems.  Yes, sure.  But, when people need help, shouldn't we help them?  

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'”

Welcome to the New Year

All of us at One Million Bones hope that you and your families have had wonderful holidays.  Our staff took a well-deserved break and have come back to work with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

As part of our blog content for this upcoming year, I'm going to see if I can look at the ways that people in camps do the same things we do here at home.  Today, I'm looking at cooking.

So making a cup of tea isn't necessarily cooking, but when I want a cuppa at the office, I walk to our small kitchen area, turn on the electric kettle and, almost instantly, hot water for tea.  I never think twice about it.  But, today I did.  Today I made a decision to really think about how easy it is for me to have a cup of tea compared to the work, and risk, involved for so many women in camps who are preparing meals for themselves and their families.

Much of what I have found centers on the means for cooking, this article about alternative fuels in Kalma Camp in South Darfur, for example.

And this video, from Darfur Peace and Development, about using solar cookers in Sakali Camp, also in Darfur.

But this article, from the Guardian, gives a sense of what families have to eat and just how long it takes to prepare it in a number of different camps.

We'll be sharing more examples like this over the course of the year.  If you have topics you're interested in, let us know in the comments.

We hope you share our resolve to truly make a difference in the next year by raising awareness of the situation that millions find themselves in across the world, to raise funds for organizations that help families acquire the most basic human needs, and to keep pressure on our politicians and policy makers to address genocide and humanitarian crises around the world with policies that make a difference and have enough funding behind them to be useful.

Welcome to 2012; more power to us all to make a difference.