Dear readers,
I honestly have to pull myself together before I write more about this. There is a level of anger and hatred that I have never experienced before about this subject, and things that I want to say that would be more destructive than anything else.
On April 13th, I will join Amnesty International in speaking against
- the mass murder, the mass rape, and the systematic mutilation of black women and girls of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
- the mass murder, the mass rape, and the systematic mutilation of black women and girls of Darfur
The seeds of this kind of atrocity are easily recognizable:
1) Greed.
2) Hatred of women, or lack of empathy for women outside of your immediate family.
3) Impugnity for violence against women.
4) Poverty of women.
5) Lack of education or miseducation of women , and lack of education or miseducation of the men in their direct proximity.
If you plant those seeds anywhere and allow them to grow into a forest, atrocities like this are guaranteed to follow.
Be sure to watch the following video, in which the UN denies the atrocities of Darfur.
As black women of America, if we think that this worldwide disdain of black women in other parts of the world won't touch American shores, think again. The shift in world power is being made, and the seeds that I mentioned earlier have been planted right here in America, right in our own communities.
As Rev. Weems said, we must become our sister's keeper.
As black women, we can not afford to allow our generalized lack of interest in politics to continue. Real lives are at stake, both here in America, and also around the world.
Every black woman must educate herself politically. Every black woman must use her talents, her intellect, and her vote to force the world to back off from this brutality and violence against us and our sisters.
80 comments:
I watched the documentary and I am also speechless. Does anybody know what plans, if any, that Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain have to end the violence in the Congo?
None of them deserve our votes if they are unwilling to do something to END THIS!
I agree, justatest, it's time we hold our presidential candidates accountable.
Either we on this side of the Atlantic are doing nothing or contributing to the atrocities in the Congo.
In my last post on my blog, I'm also at a loss for words to do an adequate review of the film, but I want to try and do something immediate about this horrendous rape epidemic.
I am serious about naming names - both in naming the different rebel military groups perpetrating the mass rapes as well as naming names of all the corporations who've been stepping into the area to profit off of the available minerals in the area, due to the deliberate chaos that has been put in place so that they can rape Mother Africa while local men rape the women.
I'm absolutely sickened at the thought that my daily use of my cellphone and my laptop, from which I've been maintaining my blog, has contributed to my Congolese sisters' suffering.
If I have in anyway contributed to this travesty, then there must be some way I, and the rest of us, can use our consumer power as well as our political power to make a difference. Any thoughts?
One more thing: in an essay titled "Anger in Isolation," Michele Wallace once wrote: "The black man has learned to himself. He will hate [black women more]."
How utterly DEAD have we become as a people when our men will rupture the wombs of their 80-year-old grandmothers and their 2-year-old daughters.
How utterly despicable have we, as African people, become when such atrocities continue in the Congo, while our bling-bling hip-hop corporate culture symbolically rape our women in video after video, while sporting the latest diamonds (because said bling bling culture has encouraged corporations to steal resources to feed our greediest demands for deadly material possessions).
How can Mother Earth even absorb all the spilled blood of our ancestors and present-day black women? No wonder our planet is acting up with all this global warming, climate change, and increasing natural disasters. She's enraged, as we all should be, not least of which is just based on all the evils unleashing on the mother land.
Correct quote: "The black man has learned to HATE himself. He will hate [black women more]."
I am literally shaking with anger as I write this. I have always been deeply concerned about this situation -- I stopped tithing and give 10% of my income to Amnesty International because of it.
Even after all of that, I still am reeling from seeing the video accounts of these women on this documentary.
I can't begin to understand the level of evil that is possible in this world. The complete devaluation and greedy commodification of black women has been fully embraced by both white and black peoples all over the globe, including here in America.
Black women must stop accepting hideous misery as the global destiny of black women.
IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.
Blessings to all of my sisters,
UNICEF issued an appeal for aid in February. Here's the press release:
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_42830.html
We can press Congress to increase humanitarian aid BUT the real problem is how the U.S. administers the aid when they get to the recipient country.
The human annihilation that occurred in Rwanda continued because we weren't paying attention... same with Darfur ...same with Uganda... Congo... the list goes on.
I have been to several countries in Africa and it's beyond heartbreaking to hear them yell out, "please tell the world what is happening to us here! please don't forget us!" and they hand you things so that you won't forget them...and then you get on the plane, look out the window and cry as it takes off...
Ladies,
I forgot to mention this web site:
www.enoughproject.org
This is the strategy paper issued last month, "Getting Serious About Ending Conflict and Sexual Violence In Congo".
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/03/pdf/enough_congo.pdf
I hope it is revelant to the dialogue here.
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
This is heart breaking, and I'm trying to stay calm in spite of my anger. Many of us "safe" black women think we're distant or exempt, but we are closer than we realize. Most of us in the US/UK are only "protected" by a prayer, and we still have to keep vigilant and stay pro-active for the sake of ourselves and future black daughters.
I'm presently reading the autobiography by Kola Boof. It has triggered me to do more research on the these heinous ills against African black women. It amazes me how hated we are even to this day. So much malevolence towards us by so many deranged minded people. I get frustrated sometimes, because I don't know what exactly I can do more to make a bigger impact.
I'm not trying to be negative, this is reality. However, we need to come together, and out of our protective worlds, debunk and fight against this spreading malice. It will be done!
I wish I had the power within me to do more at this moment than cry. The fact that this is still going on is both enraging and draining.
@ justatest & all of us-
from Obama: 1)the Darfur Peace & Accountability Act. HR 3127 passed 10/2006 "To impose sanctions against individuals responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, to support measures for the protection of civilians and humanitarian operations, and to support peace efforts in the Darfur region of Sudan, and for other purposes." http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-3127
2)the African Union Peacekeeping Mission- typical hit-and-miss
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for Clinton: #4 Global Development Agenda (She will also work to improve enforcement of anti-trafficking and anti-violence laws that protect women’s health and well-being around the world – laws that have been enacted and carried out in part through the advocacy of modern-day abolitionists, including many faith based groups.)
"Restoring America's Standing..." Hillary has been a forceful and consistent advocate for a more robust response to the violence in Darfur since May 2004. She has raised the issue with the Bush administration and pushed for more resources for peacekeeping efforts.
********
McCain - from June 2004 press release "The United States must stand ready to do what it can to stop the massacres. In addition to pushing the U.N. Security Council to act, we should provide financial and logistical support to countries willing to provide peacekeeping forces. The United States should initiate its own targeted sanctions against the Janjaweed and government leaders, and consider other ways we can increase pressure on the government. We must also continue to tell the world about the murderous activities in which these leaders are engaged, and make clear to all that this behavior is totally unacceptable.
It took concerted international pressure to achieve an end to the 20-year war between the north and south in Sudan, and even greater intensity is required to save lives in Darfur. Some Americans, understandably preoccupied with events in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, may think that these measures are too difficult or too expensive. Dealing with ethnic strife is never easy, and it is tempting to turn our heads. Yet 10 years ago we looked the other way when Americans were unfamiliar with the Hutu and the Tutsi, and 800,000 deaths now stain our conscience.
A survivor of the Rwandan genocide named Dancilla told her story to a British humanitarian group. She said: "If people forget what happened when the U.N. left us, they will not learn. It might then happen again -- maybe to someone else." All Americans should realize one terrible fact: It is happening again."
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/OpEds/D3F98376-A3FD-417C-A164-E25489445067.htm
Thank you so much, privychairlady...
You all are such a wonderful and resourceful group of women. I really need to move this blog to our full website, so that I can amplify all of your voices.
I will follow your links and read up on this tonight.
I watched the doc last nite. I missed some the first part of it. It was heart breaking. I agree it is easy to ignore these situations, because it's so hard to watch, and I know that some people will jump to stave off any characterizations of these perpetrators as 'savages.' But I don't know how else to characterize it, especially after that scene where the filmaker interviews men who had committed rape.
We obviously have to do something. I think it is best to create talking points (to provide info about these situations) and lists of actions that people can take individually and with groups of people/organizations. I thought that I had heard in a documentary on John Henrick Clarke, that years ago, Black folks were really concerned with Africa, and had church groups that did missions, and concerned themselves with what was going on there, and provided support. Even though I acknowledge that we have different histories and cultures, I think many of us have gone too far in thinking that we are so different and separate, and this affects our identification with them, and willingness to help.
I wanted to add that it was even harder watching the documentary, after finding out about a sister in my area who was killed while she slept in her bed from a "stray" bullet from a drive by shooting. I just really felt like black women can hardly find a place to be safe, not even their own homes.
I would reccoment to everyone to see/purhcase NO! The Rape Documentary by Aishah Shahidah Simmons. I saw it at a screening in San Francisco with the filmaker, and bought the DVD. I think that in addition to the HBO doc, this one would be good for a viewing gathering (viewing 'party' does not sound appropriate). This doc deals with the rape of black women in america, and includes many good speakers, music/poetry, and black women's experiences. We can gather to talk about/watch just about everything else, we should gather to talk about pressing issues.
Also, SheCodes, I made a point of listening to NPR-News and Notes today, and you did great!
hi all-
i taped the documentary and watched it only a couple of hours ago. i needed to work up the strength.
there are a couple of glaring things that i will not allow myself to overlook:
it struck me as "convenient" how the filmmaker glazed over "foreign" involvement for profits that in her own words "fuels the unrest". hmmm...about that?
she also chose to glaze over the UN's participation in the atrocities as they exploit and abuse those they are charged with protecting...it's a little thing so yes...zoom right past that....
she went on to declare that black men were the "face of sexual terrorism". black men=savages. at least it is a consistent message.
ok, everyone has an agenda.
it was truly interesting for me to see that my sisters there are dealing with exactly what we are dealing with here---people that put their pockets first and focus on me, me, me above all else. it’s a small world after all…
i truly believe people that continue to ask the u.s. government why? only set themselves up for more government lies that cover up the government ties. read it for yourself. think about it. decide for yourself what you think. are we really expecting the key players in the destruction to tell the truth? look at american conditions and ask yourself if the american government cares for black american you? that same white supremacy and racism just melts away when the u.s. government gets to africa? believe that if you want to…
this is all the more reason i will vote for Cynthia McKinney. she has been vocal about this for quite the while. she seems the only candidate that will go on record with unpopular statements and stances. she seems the only one that concerns herself with the truth. wonder why she isn't invited to the debates and getting so much press? i am being facetious. she was the only one that spoke as to why the “speech” and the reasons for it were offensive. when one looks at the condition of black folks in america---thinking you don’t have to deal with race is absurd at best. what do the other power 3 offer? even the white candidates that made sense got shut out. i don’t believe in coincidence.
when one looks deeper it is hard to miss the fact that america, european nations, canada, and china are fighting to control the wealth of africa. building military bases in africa---so they can rape the land up close and personally is the ultimate goal and they are working feverishly to make that happen. one world government /order; the foundation has been laid and control of the resources of africa is crucial to the success .
again, i will say, saving ourselves is the best we can do. this i say blessed to be able to sit at the feet of african elders that travel back and forth from america to africa. i get information and directions in which to go for additional information. in truth, our sisters are looking to us to help them. our plight in this country is only a little better. congo is here for some. already. look.
i only regret watching this on my husband's bday. we both feel heavy hearted. the upside is we both feel committed to doing more; in the interest of self preservation. we truly war not against the flesh…
i will be quiet. for now.
blessings,
focusedpurpose
Sharifa,
I don't believe we've met yet!!
{hugs}
You are so right - there really IS no safe place for black women. My own mother was assassinate in her own home with her children there.
{sigh} Long story that I won't get into in the blogosphere....
Thanks for mentioning that incredible documentary, "NO"! I saw it twice! I also met Ms. Simmons at a dinner where she received an award for her rape activist work.
Here's the website for any visitor who is interested:
http://notherapedocumentary.org/
Thanks again for blowing your trumpet about this important documentary!
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
I'll show the documentary (No!) in my class next week.
"The human annihilation that occurred in Rwanda continued because we weren't paying attention... same with Darfur ...same with Uganda... Congo... the list goes on."
i beg to differ respectfully with that statement. some of us have been paying attention. petitioning our representatives. signing petitions with other like-minded souls around the world. joining with organizations that one can only hope is not on the take and will do what they claim, sending e-mails to everyone in the world inviting them to do something, that list goes on and on...from darfur to haiti to congo to south central l.a. to inglewood to west palm beach, florida...
all of these atrocities are allowed to happen by our government because they are involved and profiting mightily from the destruction of africa and black africans. they are at this point doing a great job of messing over white americans as well at this point. let's not even talk about latin america. i am really trying to make my comments shorter in Shecodes house:-)
after somalia, there have been no african "humanitarian" missions. i submit to you that america doesn't do humanitarian missions in america much less in africa. they could prove me wrong and address the survivors of the Katrina disaster they are profiting from presently. we have discussed weather seeding so i really have no questions. (“they” being rich people that are protected and insulated further by the american government while the masses get poorer)
i am not of the mind that they will...i am very clear and have no questions as to who my enemies are, their history and my history. others inability to see has allowed complacency and faith in the system that seeks to destroy them and others, here and world-wide. because i know who i am i have faith and strength to move forward…powerfully.
blessings,
focusedpurpose
2001 to 2003, the United Nations did a report on the illegal exploitation of the natural resources of the Congo. There are a number of American companies. We have Cabot Corporation, for example, out of Boston, Massachusetts, that was named in that report. Cabot—the former CEO of Cabot Corporation is Samuel Bodman, current Secretary of Energy in the Bush administration. We have the OM Group out of Cleveland, Ohio, is another company, American company, named in the report. We also have Freeport-McMoRan, who acquired mining rights from Phelps Dodge out of Phoenix, Arizona, who have been involved in copper exploitation in the Congo. And Global Witness said the copper mines, the Tenke Fungurume mine that Freeport-McMoRan has, represents one of the richest deposits of copper in the world. However, the Congolese government and Congolese people are not benefiting from the contracts that were established and that provided Freeport-McMoRan with those resources.
We have a number of Canadian companies. Almost every Canadian prime minister since Pierre Trudeau has been involved in the mining company in the Congo. We’re talking about Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney, Jean Chretien, all of them profiting from the natural resources of the Congo while the Congolese people suffer. The reports from the Congolese government state that eighty percent of the population live on thirty cents or less a day, while you have billions of dollars going out the back door and into the pockets of mining companies.
Kabila was put in place by the Western powers because he was pliant leader. He was going to facilitate access to Congo’s vast geostrategic resources.
The International Crisis Group had done a study in 2007 which stated as much, where it documented that Western ambassadors were celebrating that Kabila won the elections, because they now knew that they would have the legitimate access to the natural resources of the Congo.
Some villages were sold to the Russians and the people were kicked out of their land. There are rivers that were sold to multinational company, and people cannot go take—have water to drink.
Four entities that are involved in keeping the Congo dependent, and one of those entities are international financial institutions, multinational institutions, such as the IMF and the World Bank.
A “civil war” is a misnomer. Congo has been invaded twice, first in 1996 primarily by Rwanda and Uganda, when they installed Kabila in power, and they did this with the backing of the United States. They could not have invaded the Congo without the backing of the United States, as Cynthia McKinney documented in her congressional hearing in 2001. Then, when Kabila did not serve the interests of the Rwandans and the Ugandans and the US, then he was gotten rid of. He was assassinated on January 16, 2001.
When they established peace deals to get—to be removed from the Congo, they left proxy forces in the Congo who were controlling areas that were endowed with gold and tin and diamonds. So even though the Rwandans and Ugandans backed out, and even though they profited tremendously while the were in the Congo with their own forces, they left proxy forces in the Congo. And this started in the Clinton administration and extended into the Bush administration.
The Rwandans and Ugandans then invaded the Congo a second time in 1998. And it was this second invasion that the study from the IRC—it has been documented—where 5.4 million Congolese have died. Fifty percent of those Congolese are less than five years old. And the main cause of death is not so much of violent conflict, but from treatable diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia, all diseases that can be treated.
ok, i am done now. the information is out there.
by way of clarification, i think those that allow themselves to be used to destroy their nations and their futures are disgraceful, evil idiots that cannot expect compassion. they,too should meet the end of judas for their efforts. this is true for home and abroad.
i think those that are behind the curtain, master-minding, funding, and deceitfully making their plans of the destuction of humanity a reality are evil savages. millions , billions, manicures, superiority complexes notwithstanding.
blessings,
focusedpurpose
@ Blackwomenblowthetrumpet,
Yes, hugs to you also! I was posting under the name "BlackL7," then I realized I had a gmail account, and could use that identity. I'm sorry to hear about your mother. Yes, we need to spread the word about projects like these.
@ Focused Purpose
Thanks for your informative reply. It's fantastic!
When I said "WE", I was referring to "WE" (the United States) and not "WE" (black women).
I will make sure I am more clear when making statements as to avoid any misinterpretation.
Thanks though, for jumping in! I do stand corrected -- with thanks.
I need to spend more time at your blog because I know you are blowing your trumpet over there for black women!
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
@focusedpurpose, Lisa, Justatest, Anxious, sharifa and others... thank you for sharing this information!
What actionable things, both on a communal and individual level can be done to end this suffering?
We must do more than give $$ to organizations... most of them are there to pick up the pieces, not to stop the atrocities from happening in the first place.
I have mixed feelings at the idea of America sending troops in there, because frankly at this point I don't trust ANY men with guns around those women. They are too vulnerable, and males in combat situations do NOT have stellar records of "not partaking" of sexual relations with indigenous women...
Mass evacuation? Criminal war crime charges against CEOs? Castration of sexual sadists? Giving every female a grenade and an Uzzi? Insane circumstances call for insane solutions. If people really cared, all of this could be stopped almost overnight.
I managed to watch the documentary & I'm speechless with rage. And even more determined to fight Satan's minions who are creating similar conditions here.
Congolese women have to be armed. It's the only way. Relying on male 'peacekeepers' & 'soldiers' for protection is only going to maintain female vulnerability. And female vulnerability is what keeps this situation going. The reality is that most 3rd world soldiers aren't soldiers at all. The only people these faux 'soldiers' are good at killing are UNARMED civilians.
Peace.
"Insane circumstances call for insane solutions"
Well since everything is on the table, I once read about a female condom called Rapex that stops rape immediately by jamming spikes on the rapist's penis. He is incapacitated with pain.
The problem of course is if there is a gang rapist, there will be men behind him to punish her and still rape her.
http://banderasnews.com/0509/hb-rapex.htm
Anxious Black Woman - Right on.
Corporations, corporations, corporations, corporations, corporations.
Name 'em and pass laws making their products get named (labeled).
Pressure for national "conflict coltan" and "conflict niobium" labeling legislation and for companies to be named in your local news!
Shecodes, getting governments to stop protecting their citizens who happen to be CEOs and such from prosecution would be KICKASS.
And, hey, maybe some queenly warfare COULD get it done.
Some got away back in the 90's and early 00's...maybe more won't if we take it on.
I agree that the women need to be armed (btw, I'm starting to think that black women in america need to be armed, too--kind of like a black female militia, or for just individual protection/sense of self-efficacy). Maybe they could reconfigure their living arrangement to put the most vulnerable (children and elderly) in a certain houses, and have able bodied women patrol with weapons. But they would have to be mindful of people overtaking them and using their weapons against them.
I also agree that we need to put the corporations on blast. We need to construct a corporation "family tree," where you can see outlined which corps are affiliated or are subsidiaries of each other, and which brands fall under which companies. That way, you can choose not to buy those products; and we should put together info re: the ceo's and contact info for each company. I've become much more interested lately in comsumer protection--how many personal care items have chemicals, etc. There are websites which list companies and products to avoid. This could work in the same way. Obviously, we could do letter writing campaigns, and put pressure on advertizers/media to address the issue or lose money/face. Especially with products like gas. It's pretty easy to avoid certain gas stations, if a particular gas company is profiting from the situation.
I wonder if these women are doing anything that could garner funds. For example, if they made crafts or music that could be purchased from folks in the U.S. or elsewhere, they could begin to work and sustain themselves financially. Maybe the filmmaker knows something about that.
At my school, some students went to Rwanda with a professor who had done some work around the situation in there, and they did trauma therapy, and I think helped train others to do the same there. I when situations like this occur, and people are motivated to do something, people should be helped to create a "wish list," like a lot of non=profits have, spelling out what the people need and want people to help them with; this would help orient our efforts.
Sorry this was so long.
"Giving every female a grenade and an Uzzi?"
i LIKE THAT IDEA!
I also think a world wide -BW and those who care boycott of those supportive corporations is also very good route.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I really like those ideas.
But also making a big stink about it to garner more support for the cause and more boycotters. Even perhaps offering alternative products on a list???
should we be concerned about the aftermath? What will be with the congolesen women after it all?
please check out Katie's link on the previous post! there is truth there!!! someone else is telling it!!!
Shecodes i am so angry right now i cannot sleep. let me still my spirit and i will answer your question. i just need to get centered. i have not dealt with how i feel as i needed to be upbeat and pleasant. today was my husband's birthday.
our people are perishing for a lack of knowledge. please read and know the truth. i cannot stress this enough. you would never call africans savages if you knew the truth. this breaks my heart more than these words can convey.
Poverty has a woman's face. Global prosperity and peace will only be achieved once the entire world's people are empowered to order their own lives and provide for themselves and their families. Societies where women are more equal stand a much greater chance of achieving the Millennium Goals by 2015. Every single Goal is directly related to women's rights, and societies were women are not afforded equal rights as men can never achieve development in a sustainable manner.
I think its high time we all individually or collectively Stand Up and Take some action
Regarding this.
This will help all you people on this blog to do something along with the United Nations in your locality.
Check this
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=47234928
FP said:
you would never call africans savages if you knew the truth.
~~~~
I believe it.
You women rock on this blog! Thanks for your great ideas. I totally agree with:
corporation boycott
war crimes tribunal including CEOs
collective defense army of women - with Rapex and arms so that gang rapists could be defended off
Keep in mind I use the word "defense." Unfortunately, I don't think armed resistance should be the only way, just one way. We should all be asking: Just who is providing these rebel soldier rapists with arms? You can almost bet it's same corporations who have more interest in "protecting" their raw materials than in protecting local communities. I would also venture to think certain governments are conveniently and illegally engaging in arms deals.
And if these rapists are being armed internationally, then my concern about a women's war would be that the opposing side would obviously continue to be better equipped than they will ever be.
So, in addition to finding out which corporations have funded and raped and pillaged the Congo, we need to also find out who's providing the arms to rapists.
fp: I'll be more clear: anyone who rapes a child, or shoots a gun inside a woman's vagina, or inserts a red hot coal into her anus so that she burns from inside out, is a savage, whether they are african or not. No excuses.
Anybody who creates conditions that encourages or sanctions others to do that, is worse than a savage, they are a child of satan, and not fit to live on earth.
I also agree that we need to put the corporations on blast. We need to construct a corporation "family tree," where you can see outlined which corps are affiliated or are subsidiaries of each other, and which brands fall under which companies.
My reply:
I once saw this done at an exhibit at Cornell. I think it was done by an artist who was interested in tracing the connections between Middle East geopolitics and American multinational corporations; the connections each had to American politicians.
This was an artist who spent time reading up on the news, reading up on the internet.
S/he then drew this complicated set of family trees which powerfully told the story.
Something like this, as applicable to the situation of black women and children in Rwanda, the Congo and the Sudan would be fitting.
A traveling exhibit!
Shecodes
I am SO READY for my part.
My sister doesn't have a blog. She hardly visits blogs, but she also wants to help.
This is a veritable david and Goliath. But I feel the momentum is right and we can do it.
Also, I just want to point out, "help" doesn't always have to be -shouldn't always be so direct.
Like: just an example: having an exhibit at the Blogging while brown can bring awareness.
Bumper stickers, etc.
This conversation is far from over...
A group of bloggers have agreed to raise awareness by blogging about this issue on April 13th -- I am going to participate. I really want to create actionable things for all readers, something that they can get off their computer and do for these women and girls.
Awareness is very good but not enough. There needs to be real, physical movement to end these atrocities. I really hope that the Day of Awareness doesn't just bring about a slew of 'symbolic' protests, like wearing ribbons on our lapels, etc.
Everyone who is involved in this femicide, from the highest rungs of government and business to the soldier in the bush needs to be faced down and stopped.
I am personally not opposed to knocking on the front door of a CEO and demanding that he reverse course. It might scare the crap out of him and make me look like some kind of nut, but if he gets a knock on the door every day by another pissed of civilian, he might start feeling just as 'unsafe' as the women in the Congo.
I've already blogged a bit about it. Will do more.
My sister is suggesting getting some corporations on our side.
What I want to know is this: WHERE ARE THE BLACK FEMALE SORORITIES? Why are they MIA?
Or are they so weak and ineffective that their words can't get past their college campuses? These organizations should be on the front lines, IMHO.
A group of bloggers have agreed to raise awareness by blogging about this issue on April 13th -- I am going to participate. I really want to create actionable things for all readers, something that they can get off their computer and do for these women and girls.
Awareness is very good but not enough. There needs to be real, physical movement to end these atrocities. I really hope that the Day of Awareness doesn't just bring about a slew of 'symbolic' protests, like wearing ribbons on our lapels, etc.
Everyone who is involved in this femicide, from the highest rungs of government and business to the soldier in the bush needs to be faced down and stopped.
My reply:
I'm willing to participate too in the blogging bit!
Any ideas for strategies, I'm interested too.
Greetings my sistas and my comrades,
You are correct that the U.S. is complicit on a large scale. The coltan mined by rebels and foreign forces is sold to foreign corporations. I am sure some of you know this so I hope I am not stating the obvious and wasting space but....
One of the most sought-after materials IN THE WORLD is columbite-tantalite (called Coltan).
Why is it so valuable? When Coltan is refined, it is used as a metal powder called tantalum and converted to capacitors. Nokia, Motorola, Compaq, Alcatel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard , IBM, Lucent, Ericsson and Sony use it in cell phones, computer chips, game consoles, and things like that.
Rebel groups finance the war by exploitation of coltan mining. Uganda and Rwanda and Burundi receive smuggled coltan and sell it to the world market.
These are the top seven U.S. corporations to watch:
Cabot, OM Group, Vishay Intertechnology, AVX Corporation, Eagle Wings Resources International, Trinitech Internatioanl, Kemet
Patrick Prevost
President and CEO
Cabot Corporation
Two Seaport Lane
Suite 1300
Boston, MA 02210
Joseph Scaminace
Chief Executive Officer
OM Group
Cleveland, OH
127 Public Square
Cleveland, OH 44114
Gerald Paul
Vishay Intertechnology (part of Vishay Sprague)
63 Lancaster Avenue
Malvern, PA 19355
**Vishay is #1 in manufacturing wet tantalum capacitors worldwide.
John S. Gilbertson
President and CEO
AVX Corporation
801 17th Avenue South
Box 867
Myrtle Beach, SC 29578-0687
**Suppliers of tantalum capacitors
Robert Raun
Eagle Wings Resources International
2069 Midway Drive
Twinsburg, OH 44087
*a subsidiary of Trinitech, mining and distribution of tantalite
*they have offices in Rwanda and Burundi (sooo close to the action! how convenient...)
Robert Raun
President
Trinitech International
2069 Midway Drive
Twinsburg, OH 44087
**Converter and distributor of tantalum
Per-Olof Loof
Chief Executive Officer
Conrado Hinajosa, SVP, Tantalum Business Group
Kemet Electronics Corporation
2835 Kemet Way 29681
Simpsonville, SC
**Kemet is the world's largest maker of tantalum capacitors! Pay close attention to U.S. corporations doing business with Kemet.
I keep saying over and over to our people - when you see these wars continuing in Africa with little U.S. intervention - just study the money trail. It always leads back to our own U.S. corporations! Always. Trust me on that!
Any time the mass destruction of Africans is occuring, always look for the tie to Belgium. They were involved in the massacres in Rwanda, Sierra Leone…just don’t get me started on the Belgiums!
I hope this info is helpful to the dialogue.
Lisa
Thank you lisa,
It's time to start naming names! With the obscene amount of money these electronic firms are making, could they not at the VERY LEAST feed,educate, and protect the peoples of this region? Why, in addition to being thieves, do they also have to be genocidal, murderous, and rapist organizations? Why must women and children pay the price for this?
They don't want the Coltan, for heaven's sake...
May I link top this post from my page?
The rape of women and girls is only the tip of the suffering and death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since 1998, 5.4 million people have died unnecessarily due to preventable and treatable diseases.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) says it is the "world deadliest crisis" since World War II. They estimated less than ten percent of the deaths were due to armed violence.
Congo is the "forgotten war". There is more people displaced, dying and suffering than any other current crisis in the news today.
It is VERY SAD to say, these unfortunate rape victims are the lucky ones because they survived. Thousands of children and women died each and every month in the Congo due to malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition.
Woody Collins
Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo
http://www.EndingExtremePoverty.org
@brotherkomrade: absolutely.
@woodycollins: The extreme poverty is an indictment of the entire world, however I would be very judicious when using the word 'lucky' with these women. The profane suffering is not "lucky"... but we get what you mean.
Yeah, I have a problem seeing them as 'lucky'. I have women-friends who have been raped and while they are not living in a country like the Congo, rape is rape and it has an effect that only the victim will be living with for the rest of their lives. For some, they may rather prefer death than living with the memory.
Shecodes- I completely concur w/ you about the "our" greek sororities (and other Black female organizations for that matter).
For once, this could make a prime altar call/battle cry for these young, sharp sisters to strike a path and their elders to peel down to the truer layers on their nat'l agendas.
Yet, sah-rahs/sorors or not we definitely must tap into the well of college students. (Possibly another "battleground" upon itself for the same and different reasons.) We need ALL kinds of reams to start this "bridge"!
I watched the documentary on Tuesday and I was completely OUTRAGED. Since I watched it, all I could think of is what can I do and how soon can I do it? Does anyone know what we can do to put a stop to this? Do we write letters, try to send money, protest, all of the above? I am personally ready and willing to do whatever it takes to stop this, I just feel so powerless right now.
hi-
Shecodes, your point is well taken. i will say it is interesting to note that rape/torture is a weapon of war. it is used wherever there is conflict. the men die and the women die a thousand times. it has always been this way as far as i can see.
it is deliberate and in keeping with white supremacy to refer to evil africans committing these crimes against humanity as "savages". you know i don't play patty cake. the only thing i hate more than injustice---anywhere on this planet---is white supremacy. here, we have both. i am sick with it! literally. that is the offense that i have taken. look for this particular term to be used with the many incidences of rape in iraq, afghanistan, japan, and around the world, by all colors of men today. you will find the same behavior yet this word...missing. i don't believe in coincidence.
i cannot say that we disagree with the children of satan. those that actually run the u.s. government (not the figure heads)founding fathers of this nation, and quite a few of their relatives fit the bill nicely. not to mention the lily crowds of men, women, and children (whose offspring is running around today) gathered at lynching parties---rape, fire, mutilation all there---the word savage to describe these people, not so much. i will say it. it is true.
Genocide is the congregation of femicide and homocide, the destruction of an entire people---this is what we are witnessing and not witnessing that is happening nevertheless here and abroad. right now. on different scales, yet all the same. ethnic cleansing is in full swing. take a peek at the new science fiction movies that depict the future. it is not by accident there are never any black folks:-)
it seems that europeans would like to rape and rampage across africa without the inconvenience of running into resistant africans. in fact they are doing exactly with africans as they did with the indigenous people of this land---doing their best to wipe them out, using rape, disease, and unbridled brutality. getting other africans to assist, well you know how much europeans love it whenever they can get others to work for them. for free. for centuries. if you look similar tactics are used against black men and women in this country. it looks different, the end result is the same---the destruction of a people.
Lisa, thank you again for making activism so easy. yes, follow the money trail and look past all the black bodies for the white folks. they are always always there, without fail. and not just the belgians either. i am starting to notice new "permanent fixtures".
Shecodes, i will send you an email later. i am not feeling so well today.
blessings all,
focusedpurpose
*Sigh*. How can I say this with my un-eloquent self?
Focused Purpose,
I feel that it is a great and delicious thing to find white supremacy as the criminal each and everytime. And although, YES, they are the masterminds, I don't think the black men in this case should be brushed off as -free help simply.
They are the arm, the extensions of these people. They are also functioning on greed. One couldn't succeed without the other. Can someone pay you a million dollars to sell your mother down a river? No way! You are not greedy for money.
How can it be so easy to get these men to rape, sodomize, etc these women -these country folk women. What happened to the solidarity among Africans before alliance to White folks? Greed happened.
I'm afraid that in your delight to find white supremacy the culprit, all else will be brushed lightly. Sigh. Whatever. that's my opinion.
I think the purpose is loving the Congolese so much -or having compassion for humanity or for BW so much that we want to do something to help because we value BW, rather than hating the white supremeist so badly, we want to stick it to the them.
Yes, the difference may seem like splitting hairs but it can impact things in the long run.
The European and America corporation are guilt. Those Africans who do the raping are guilty too.
Then again, I guess maybe everybody operates differently, and one way of thinking may be need on one side of the battlefield, whereas another way of thinking could be used at a different location.
Thank you, Lisa, for that detailed list and for heeding my call to name names in this conflict.
@ Anxious Black Woman
I am happy to share the hit list! Believe me - the list is LOOOONGER! I am just getting started!
The U.S. is not interested in ending the Congo massacre because U.S. corporations need the coltan, technology is a huge industry for this country, and therefore the coltan supply is crucial to the tech industry.
Lives of women and children are the price the U.S. will gladly pay for Coltan...
Stay tuned!
Lisa
__________________________________
FocusedPurpose,
I hope you feel better. {hugs}
Don't make me start speaking in tongues over here! Because I will!!
It works just like cyber-anointing oil!! *lol*
Lisa
_____________________
@SheCodes
What about a webinar on this issue? I will collaborate with whomever wants to put something together that people can put on their blogs as a widget and link back to this site. I was thinking of a PowerPoint with audio - you have that great radio voice! *lol*
Feel free to reach out to me by email if you want - my email addy is on my blog!
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
hi Miriam-
when it comes to social change one may start at the root or the tip. this documentary started at the tip. you seem to like the tip as well. i prefer to start, without apology, at the root. our strength is in our differences.
i stand in agreement this cannot happen in the absence of greed. i urge you to apply historical perspective to your african solidarity question. there have always been africans that will do damage to their fellow africans for what amounts to trinkets in the final analysis in this instance and others. but then in america, we all speak english and there is no real solidarity---just yet.
for the record, i derive no pleasure or delight in noticing the big white supremacy root of this evil evil situation and others like it around the world. for me, it is hard to ignore. the fear of offending people bothers me less than knowing the truth and refusing to tell it. when it comes to my freedom or someone else's comfort, i will choose freedom without hesitating or apologizing every time.
you crack me up Miriam. i am always in awe of passive aggressiveness. i asked you before if you notice you tend to do this. when observed it truly it is an artform. i lack it. i am simply unapologetically aggressive:-) for this reason i could never do the "work from within" gig. thank God we all have different gifts and roles to play in this army. i choose to focus on the agenda and prize.
btw, i am greedy. i want all of my freedom and blessings to live unpersecuted on this planet; not just a few. i want this for all of my people---the men, women, and children---to destroy any of us destroys us all. all things in this life are related i believe. life is a circle as i see it.
go back and read my comments. i don't write black passes. in fact, as i struggled to watch this documentary i wondered why these war criminals were allowed to walk away after such admissions. not for long though. i understand what i see. my real questions i have only for God. i do get that you don't know me. please know we are on the same team contributing in different ways. different is not wrong. just different.
blessings to you sis,
focusedpurpose
FP said:
i am always in awe of passive aggressiveness.
ok. The personal insults, I'll just ignore. I think I was pretty direct but okay.
Miriam, I certainly don't see you as "un-eloquent," but I do invite you to consider that, when someone raises the charge of white supremacy, they don't always mean that the perpetrators are white.
I mean, how are these Congolese soldiers, who consent themselves to creating chaos in their own country and will burn off a young woman's buttocks or shove a gun into her vagina and pull the trigger, NOT white supremacists? They are doing the work of the most anti-black extremists you will ever encounter. They might as well be living under King Leopold's colonial regime (he killed 8 million Pygmies, while they're slowing gaining this number with 5.4 million dead).
So, I ask: why should we NOT see these soldiers as white supremacists? Because their skin is black?
This, my friends, is what's called INTERNALIZED RACISM/WHITE SUPREMACY and this is also what happens, as Ngugi once said, when an African fails to DECOLONIZE his mind and accepts the false premise that, THE ONLY WAY TO RECUPERATE HIS MANHOOD, in the wake of his conquest as a racial and imperialist subject, IS TO SUBJUGATE WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
I see white supremacy all over this conflict (both in the actions of the corporate rapists and the military rapists). Misogyny is the expression of this.
Lisa, I'm definitely game to do a webinar. I'm swamped for the next couple of days, but we will touch bases very soon.
ABW,
Point taken. Very interesting. Well explained. I hope that is what she meant. This is true.
Miriam:
FP said:
i am always in awe of passive aggressiveness.
ok. The personal insults, I'll just ignore. I think I was pretty direct but okay.
My reply:
Greetings, Miriam! I don't see you as having been passive aggressive at all.
Other observations:
I'm so glad to see discussion of the nuances of this situation, to get us all thinking about explanations and strategies. One strategy I'll pursue, and not just with respect to blogging, will include educating my students. Once again, I'll have a great platform. I teach the global aspects of feminist theory in a few weeks, and examples such as these are perfect.
@AnxiousBlackWoman
You said:
"when someone raises the charge of white supremacy, they don't always mean that the perpetrators are white."
AMEN and AMEN.
Thanks for making this point!
Lisa
hi all-
thanks you Lisa for your well wishes. today is a much better day:-)
Miriam i would like to clarify something for you so that you won't seem so confused.
your behavior with me here and elsewhere can best be described as passive aggressive. i have mentioned this to you before. you may ignore it if you choose. i won't. nor will i pretend it isn't happening and not call it.
when you say:
"I feel that it is a great and delicious thing to find white supremacy as the criminal each and everytime..."
and
"I'm afraid that in your delight to find white supremacy the culprit, all else will be brushed lightly. Sigh. Whatever. that's my opinion."
just as it is impossible to not notice white supremacy all over this ungodly wickedness---it is hard for me to overlook the fact that you seem to have something else on your mind.
when you've said previously here: (and i will only deal with our exchanges here out of respect for Shecodes' house, you, and myself)
"I also sense things, but I try to play it cool. Or silly."
which for the record i did not, purposely, address at that time. it is my habit to patiently observe behavior before calling it.
p