Again.

As a poet, I find word definitions interesting because I’m reminded or surprised or struck by the nuances of words, even commonly used and understood words like “again.”

Here’s what struck me about the word again when I looked at its definition today.  It, of course means what we all think of it as meaning, “another time” or “once more.”  But depending on how the word is used, it can also mean, “on the other hand” — she may, and then again, she may not.

We have failed miserably in our actions when we use the word again, as in never again, as in not another time. The title of this opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof says it all: Yet again in Sudan.

Words are powerful, and while they don’t provide aid to people displaced by genocide, nor medicine to those injured by atrocities, they can provide comfort, and most importantly, all of us at One Million Bones hope, they can spur change.

What if rather than saying never again, which we continue to fail at spectacularly, we made a pledge to use the word again with the “on the other hand” meaning.  What if we started saying we may let atrocities happen in Sudan, and then again, we may not. What if we started saying we may let mass rapes in Congo continue another 22 years, then again we may not. Never again is a catchy slogan, but maybe it loses power because it doesn’t mention the crux of the issue:  Atrocities.  Genocide.  Mass rape.  If we looked at situations around the world this way, as a concrete choice between letting atrocities go on, or stopping them would that make it easier for us to make never again mean never again? I have no answer, there may not be one, but something has to change, and why not start with how we talk about the world?

We have an opportunity in Sudan, we can let the killing, fighting and suffering go on, and then again we could end it now. This makes for a tidy little segue from R2P to Sudan, but it addresses the singular question I ask myself: How can anyone in a position to do something about Sudan, or any of the other places we talk about, continue to let these atrocities happen?

PS. I like Kristof’s work.  If you do as well, here is a link to his bio, and to his blog, and you can find his twice weekly op-ed pieces at the NYTimes website.

An announcement in less than 140 characters

OMB is aiming for a TWITTER TREND on 7/13/11.

If U tweet, get ready to re-tweet...

Questions?

An off schedule post for the people of Congo

It's from May, but I just found this article. I'm going off schedule because I want to share it right away, and thank Eve Ensler from the bottom of my heart for writing it.

Congo is heartbreaking to me. For 14 years all the people of Congo have been living in fear, with violence, death and rape all around them. 

And, this article absolutely captures it, for me.  We let these crimes go on, and on, and on. And every day each and every one of us don't take some action, whether large or small, the crimes continue. We have to realize that our politicians are not going to do anything if we don't make them!

Let me say it again: We have to realize that our politicians are not going to do anything if we don't make them.

One Million Bones is about raising awareness about these kinds of atrocities. It's about giving people a reason to care enough about other people half a world away that they will take some kind of action to help them. If you're reading this blog post, and you haven't before, please take the next step: Take Action. And if you have taken action already, please do it again.

Here's a link to Congo Global Action, please click it to see what you can do. 

Here's another from Raise Hope for Congo. 

Here's one more, from Enough!. 

This is for a British organization called Congo Now.  I say contact them too.   

And, please share this information with friends, family and co-workers. That's how it will happen.

It's so over used, but I'm doing it anyway: let us be the change we want to see in the world.

An action for Sudan, and news updates…

An Action

As we’ve mentioned, July 9^th is a remarkably important day in Sudan’s history. The Save Darfur/Genocide Intervention Network is planning a stand in solidarity event that day.  They’re asking folks around the country to make a donation to their organization for which they’ll receive a t-shirt. And then, they’re asking everyone to wear those shirts on July 9^th.  So, if you can, please do that.  Here’s a link that will take you to the website where you can do so.

We’re also going to suggest that you can wear your One Million Bones t-shirt that day.  All of us in the OMB office will be wearing ours. Here’s a link to the website where you can get an OMB t-shirt. 

And, if anyone asks you about it, tell them that you’re standing with Sudan.  Here’s a link to the Save Darfur website where you can find information about the current situation that you can share with them.

Two bits of news:

Pauline Nyiramasuhuko and her son were convicted last week of crimes against humanity during the Rwandan genocide. She is the first woman tried and found guilty and this verdict represents some measure of justice. This is a link to a BBC article.

And, the same court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Muammar Gaddafi who they say is criminally responsible for the deaths of thousands of Libyans during the current uprising.  Also from the BBC.

Considering our discussions of R2P and Libya, I have to wonder if this action has anything to do with its use or if it will have any impact on the use of R2P in the future. Thoughts?

Back on track, R2P and Burma

We’ve taken a few detours from our R2P focus this past week, but we're back today, with this article from The Irrawaddy.  Here’s the beginning of The Irrawaddy’s description of themselves, and a link to the rest of the statement.

“The Irrawaddy Publishing Group (IPG) was founded in 1993 by a group of Burmese journalists living in exile in Thailand. The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma and the Southeast Asian region.

From its inception, Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. The Irrawaddy is neither an advocacy group nor an NGO campaigning for particular causes. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

The Irrawaddy inspires democratic values via the publication of news that is censored in Burma. We work with international media and media inside Burma, to provide uncensored information on the on-going crisis in Burma for both the Burmese and international community.

The Irrawaddy originated from the activities of a group of young Burmese activists who were forced to flee the persecution of the military regime in Burma, over the1988 democracy uprisings. They fled into exile in Thailand where they worked passionately to alert the international community about the atrocities occurring in their homeland.”

The article, an opinion piece, is a few months old but makes the connection between Burma, one of OMB’s focus countries, and R2P.