Guest Blog: 40 day fast for Special Envoy Now!

Sunday, June 12th, 2011  |   4 Comments »

Today is Day 23 of my hunger strike. This week came so quickly, I still feel so strong. And I have decided to extend my fast to 40 Days. I will continue on the water, water with lemon and honey, mulberry tea, roasted dandelion tea, and vegetable broth plan until my hunger strike concludes on June 29th. For my Sisters in Congo, who go without physical safety and justice, my gesture is one of solidarity.

Blessings are always balanced with complications and tragedies. Certainly, burying the man I loved at 25 was a kind of suffering I would never wish on anyone. Holding our then two year old daughter’s hand and embarking on a life I had never imagined was scary. Knowing our dreams of having three or four children were over stung in a way I still cannot articulate. Creating new dreams wasn’t easy, but the combination of our faith and family made the difference, and I wake up every day feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. I also feel a responsibility to give back. To do something that might ease the suffering of others.

The women of Congo know real suffering. Horror. Indescribable violence. Rape. Rape again and again and again. Slavery in the tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold and copper mines. Auto-cannibalism. Fistula. Unspeakable traumas. Malnutrition. Preventable diseases. They live, mostly, without justice.  But not without grace and hope. Survivors from Congo, from Sudan or other war torn and poverty stricken nations have an inner poise that inspires me to action.

My hunger strike is for them. Going without food for 40 days seems a small price to pay to bring awareness to these women and their children. To what end? So more people will know about the suffering? No.

To urge President Barack Obama to appoint a Special Envoy to Congo, and the Great Lakes region, that will be empowered to foster a change on the ground. To partner with the international community, MONUSCO and other reliable actors to bring about positive change. To provide whatever diplomatic guidance is necessary in advance of the November 2011 elections. The ongoing bloodshed, violence and rampant corruption, plus the toxic and genocidal influence of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, has taken millions of lives. It remains the bloodiest, most deadly conflict since World War II.

Realism dictates we understand that even with elections, reforms and the will of the Congolese people pushing for change, violence will not magically cease. But every day President Obama waits, every day the international community, and interested parties look away from the horror, it will continue unabated. Every day that passes, 1152 women and girls between the ages of 15-49 will be raped.  Over the course of my 40 day hunger strike, that translates to 46,080 women and girls will have been brutally raped.

The magnitude of this crisis requires action, not strongly worded statements. Whatever comes next, justice must be on the table.

Elizabeth Blackney

 

 

 

Posted in Activism, Sisters

Redefining Activism

Thursday, May 26th, 2011  |   7 Comments »

For me, “activist” is a loaded word. It carries the weight of a stereotype: loud, opinionated, in-your-face kind of people who shout in front of buildings, hold big signs, and occasionally pull off stunts like living in a tree or standing in front of a bulldozer. People love them, hate them, criticism them. I’ve always admired such nerve, but never identified with the approach. Donate to causes, vote on the issues, sure. But activist? No, not me.

Then I found myself in my sister’s kitchen on the first night of Special Envoy Now trying to summon the courage to speak. Lisa had asked me to ask my family to post photos, and I said I would, yet despite a deep pain for the brutal rapes Congolese women endure, I really didn’t want to. It wasn’t a big protest, but still, I was a behind-the-scenes girl, doing my part in quiet, non-public ways (in this case, writing web text for ATS and helping garner publicity for the new rape stats). There are actors and stagehands, I reasoned, and both make the world go round. This is valid, but it was also an excuse. The truth was that I was scared to put myself out there, even to my family. What if they said no? What if they judged me?

I wasn’t the only nervous sister. Suzanna Blahna hesitated when a co-worker asked her about her new Facebook profile photo, which included the sign “Great Lakes Special Envoy Now.” Should she talk about this at work? Would her colleague respond negatively?

Our fears were understandable; taking a position is a risk. It opens you up to rejection and criticism. It makes you vulnerable. But there is power in action, so that night in my sister’s kitchen—as my mom chopped vegetables, my nephew did homework, and my younger sister walked her one-year-old daughter around in circles—I wrote out envoy signs, took a deep breath, and launched into a monologue on rape stats, billion dollars in aid, asking the president to help, and then the kicker: does anyone want to participate?

“Sure,” my sister replied.

“A billion dollars?” my 16-year-old nephew said with indignation and got out of his chair.

We took photos on the stairs and the dad of the one-year-old joined us too.

At the office, Suzanna told her co-worker that more than 400,000 rapes occurred in one year. Her colleague said, wow, but when asked to post a photo, opted out. Her efforts weren’t in vain; one more person now knows about Congo.

Lisa has talked of her own fears and nerves and moments of feeling silly running down the halls of Congress not fully sure of what she was doing, yet finding that each and every time she and others have shown up for Congo, it matters. Yes, exactly. Another person knows about Congo. A few more voices have whispered “special envoy” in President Obama’s ear. And I have realized that activism isn’t just big signs and media-grabbing stunts (important and effective though they may be). It’s also a few women simply finding the courage to speak.

Michelle Hamilton

Posted in Activism, Sisters