Finding Collective Answers After Tragedy, One View

There is no why. I learned that at 21 years old after finding my sister safe on 9/11, already mourning how many people did not find their loved one alive. There is no why I thought to myself a few days later in Grand Central Station holding my sister's hand, crying together, because there was a sign of two sisters who were still “missing.” There was no why in the weeks afterward, either. As Manhattan burned and ashes clung to the window of our bedroom. There was no why, months later, when I would not fly. When she and I moved to suburbia to feel safer.

As an athlete and a person who lived through 9/11, the bombing of the Boston Marathon reasserts, there is no why. As a runner and as a person whose entire soul is devoted to that incredibly awe-inspiring sport, I can promise every single person who runs -- whether one mile, all 26.2, or 56 -- there is no answer to why. Why him or her? Not me or you. Why not them? Why do we live in this kind of world? Why again? That is the part that never makes sense and never will. Yet, that is the question that came late at night or as the taxi crossed the Williamsburg Bridge and tears started coming because a year later the towers were still expected just for a second even as I reminded myself, "of course, you know they are not there." There is no why five years later when beams of light ascending into the Manhattan skyline announced the anniversary. Or ten years later after I had just finished racing La Parisienne in ode to those lost, when my beloved running coach asked me, “What do you say to someone who has lived through terrorism to comfort them?” “I still do not know,” I replied.

Bombing the finish line of one of the most elite marathons in the world has no sense of justice. The person or people who created this tragedy have no understanding of this sport or of humanity. Running is my heart and soul because of its incredible connection to humility and its profoundly shared resilience. If you want to understand what never giving up means, run a marathon. If you want to understand what support can do, look over to the people along the sidelines -- your family, your friends, strangers united in the cause of hoping for everyone to thrive together, yet cheering you to race your best.

In 2007, when racing the New York City marathon, I came across the 59th street bridge into Manhattan and realized the last time I traversed that bridge on foot was September 11, 2001 -- to leave Manhattan, to return home to Brooklyn and my sister who I had frantically prayed and searched for all day, to hold her safe and sound. I still know exactly what I was wearing, not on marathon day, but on that day. Yet on marathon day, six years later I came across that bridge from the other direction stronger than I ever had been before even with those emotions so tangible. And, there was one woman spectator holding a banana. I swear she was grace because I needed that potassium more than anything on earth. I thanked her profusely but kept going, so I could arrive to my sister who was waiting with my mum, my baby sister, and close friends near our apartments on the Upper East Side to cheer me on.

Twelve years after 9/11, we continue to live in a world where senseless violence occurs without boundaries. We live in a world filled with war. We live in a world where journalists remind the American people of Afghanistan and racist assumptions about terrorism, even though we do not know if this recent bombing was domestic. However, I have never forgotten what my country used 9/11 to do. That is why I have advocated, written, and run to make sure along with so many other amazing human beings that any speck of hatred, any act of war, does not infect my heart or my belief in humanity. Running is that tether for me and for so many others. That shall remain. In fact, that will be strengthened.

Even so, I still have moments when just having my sister be here is enough. She lives in Pittsburgh now, raising two children, and I live in Paris. Recently, she visited along with our younger sister and I watched them walk ahead of me in sunlight along the Seine. That was before Boston. But, that was far after 9/11.

In one of the most eloquent and beautiful responses to the tragedy, Boston Globe Columnist Kevin Cullen says

 …we need more than prayers. We need answers. We need peace of mind, and we’ll never have that again on Patriots Day. Ever.

He is right. But, I can promise Boston will have more compassion and healing in the next weeks, months, and years than can ever be anticipated. The answers do arrive and so does peace. So does healing and appreciation, not ever for the experience itself but for the knowledge of how fragile and incredible every single second we have truly is. I already know how incredible running is as a sport. That is why I devoted my life to it for these past years. I already know incredible humanity. But, I also know not to live in fear, but to live as passionately as possible and for the right reasons. Those are the answers, even if there is no why. Or at least they are mine.

If you are in Paris, please join us this Saturday morning to run in support of Boston. 

Photo credit: Beth Murphy

Gender-Based Violence Plays Role in Arms Treaty Conference

"A guy with a machete in a village can rape one woman. Two guys with a machine gun can rape the whole village." --Annie Matundu Mbambi, Democratic Republic of Congo


For the past three weeks, the United Nations has been the epicenter for all countries of the world to meet for the first-ever Diplomatic Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). This week, negotiations to limit the presently unregulated international arms trade are entering their final phase.


According to the United Nations News Centre, "Currently, 80 percent of the global trade in conventional weapons is dominated by a handful of countries, but with globalization, new producers are entering the market." 


What does this mean? Arms proliferation is a changing and world-threatening issue with increasing magnitude, new players, and a greater thrust because of globalization. Yet, unregulated arms control has also changed modern warfare. In April, Elle Magazine quoted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying, "In World War I, 90 percent of the casualties were soldiers, but in Africa's recent conflicts, 90 percent of casualties are civilians. So peacemaking and peacekeeping must change too."

Whether child soldiers or sustained gender-based violence in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, women and children are specific targets of war. In fact, a former UN Peacekeeping Commander Major General Patrick Cammaret once said, "It is now more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in modern conflict." 


As such, the report Putting Women's Rights Into the Arms Treaty, cites one of the greatest reasons for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is "that war is affecting civilians, particularly women and children, at much higher percentages." 

Enter discussions of gender-based violence and sexual violence. Kate Hughes, a British representative of Oxfam, has spent the past few weeks in New York City raising even greater awareness as to why gender-based violence (GBV) must be included within the treaty terms. In the early days of the conference, Kate helped orchestrate a media stunt picked up by CNN to highlight the current "body bag" approach to arms control, which she says, is that "we wait till body bags pile up before there is an arms embargo."

Think back to the quote beginning this article from a woman in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) comparing the damage done with a machete versus an AK47. In the DRC, rape statistics are beyond horrifying, with estimates of nearly two million women raped and a new rape every minute. 

Hughes says, "The opening quote really sums up why the ATT has so much relevance to the issue of gender-based violence. GBV is instantly exacerbated when you add a gun to the equation. Countries with the highest instan[ces] of gender based violence, are by and large conflict countries; countries that are awash with weapons. The Arms Trade Treaty presents an opportunity, but it is an opportunity that could be missed. Some states are resistant to the explicit reference of gender based armed violence; there are also states that are resistant to the treaty covering weapons like the AK47 for example. (It is the AK47 that is one the most prevalent weapons in DRC.)"

Yet, how vast are the effects of gender-based violence in conflict zones? The Women's Media Center's Women Under Siege has been working hard to document the new cases of GBV and sexual violence happening in Syria. If you look at their live crowd map, one gets the sense of sexual violence permeating war zones.

Hughes shares other conflict zones where that the case. "Gender-based violence has been reported to have been committed by armed groups including state security forces recently in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Mali. It's been committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with reports of women - from young girls to elderly women - being tortured and violently raped as a tactic of armed groups to assert power and domination. Communities also increasingly report sexual violence against men and boys. During Colombia's 50-year armed conflict, sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war, routinely practiced by all of the armed groups: state military forces, paramilitaries and guerrillas. Last week, Norway pointed to the prevalence of systematic rape in the recent war in the Balkans."  

Just like every facet of war, profit often dictates rather than diplomatic intervention. A recent  allafrica.com article cites how tense conversations have become in the ATT conference's final days. 

The talks, which carried on throughout the weekend in New York, are now being dominated by sceptical governments including Iran, Syria and Cuba, intent on having a weak treaty - or no treaty at all. China and Russia are opposed to effective human rights and humanitarian rules in any deal whilst the US wants exclusions that could undermine the effectiveness of any treaty. 

London and Paris, which until now have been key champions of a strong treaty, are now coming under intense pressure from Washington. There are concerns that they may trade-off strong international humanitarian and human rights protections to get China, Russia and the US to sign up to any final deal.  

What are the desired outcomes of getting gender-based violence into the Arms Trade Treaty? The report Putting Women's Rights Into the Arms Treaty shares, "To have real impact, a prospective Arms Trade Treaty must include legally binding criteria that prevent arms transfers to abusers of human rights or into situation where there is a substantial risk that they will undermine development or exacerbate armed violence. The Arms Trade Treaty also needs to refer to gender-based armed violence in both the treaty text and criteria." 


Kate Hughes agrees, then adds:

The treaty must recognize that there is a gendered impact to armed violence and makes it a specific goal / objective of the treaty to address this. We are pushing to have a specific criteria that says that states "shall not" transfer weapons where there is a substantial risk of that these weapons will be used to commit GBV. It is not the case that the arms trade treaty will suddenly eliminate GBV, but it is a really important opportunity make sure that the international community upholds its commitments to women, peace, and security issues. 

This world map shows which countries are in support of including GBV in the treaty. The United Nations Diplomatic Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty ends July 27. 

Photo credit: Control Arms

International Women's Day: Beyond All Borders

Every year International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 to honor women worldwide. To bring females closer to equity and to expand our rights and our voices globally. From America, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and beyond, IWD events are as wide-ranging as the messages. Her Blueprint commends each hosting organization, partner, or individual who participates. We have reverence knowing so many honor this day designed to make our world better, if not best, for females everywhere.

Celebrating IWD
The United Nations' theme for International Women's Day is to Empower Rural Women: End Hunger and Poverty. The goal falls within a year of launching the new UN Women with more direct funding and dedicated strength to women's rights; as the Commission on the Status of Women continues in New York City; and, with the UN already achieving two of the eight MDG Goals before 2015. Imagine how far-reaching the effect of empowering all women to help end hunger and poverty for everyone.

On March 8, CARE and Gender Across Borders invites bloggers, writers, and humanitarian organizations to Blog for International Women's Day. With over 200 participating blogs, the online event's theme is "Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures." Also, on March 8, the International Museum of Women's annual Gala benefit Art Live Lounge will entertain San Francisco's philanthropists and activists with music, dancing, and cocktails in support of our latest exhibition, MAMA: Motherhood Around the Globe.


Building Bridges of Peace
Women for Women International's Join Me on the Bridge Campaign continues as one of the most riveting IWD events because it encourages women to gather across bridges all over the world to show mutual support for women in conflict zones to stand together in peace.

Last year, 75,000 people joined the campaign, and there were 464 events in 70 countries and on 6 continents. According to WfWI's website, last year saw the first-ever bridge events in Baghdad and Kabul, "where the women took brave steps to show their strong demand for peace and equality." This year events are planned in Antarctica, Iraq, Kenya, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sweden, Poland, UK, US, and once again in Afghanistan. (You can join an event here.)

A View from Afghanistan
In 2014, America plans to pull out of Afghanistan after more than a decade at war. The image of a better, if not best, world for females becomes a hard-won goal when assessing areas of the world where women and children suffer mercilessly during and after conflict.

A recent New York Times article discussed the heart-wrenching deaths of Afghan infants in Kabul. The children, already displaced to refugee camps, died from cold overnight temperatures simply because they did not have winter blankets in their tents. Their deaths were heavily disputed by Afghan officials.

At the time, I was interviewing Noorjahan Akbar in Kabul about her recent development of Young Women for Change (YWC), a new grassroots organization to empower Afghan women and create social change. Young Women for Change formed, says Noorjahan, "because the youth of Afghanistan, who make over 65% of the population, are not mobilized in the struggle for women’s rights and social justice as much as they should be. The idea behind YWC [makes] it possible for youth around the country to be aware and empowered enough to stand up for women’s rights and start a grassroots movement."

After Noorjahan answered questions for me, I replied with thanks and received this email as her auto-reply.

We are losing more kids. Please help. This winter the weather in Afghanistan has been cruel and cold. As a result many children living under tents and families who can't afford to buy wood are dying. Please help them. How you can help? All Afghans and others living in Afghanistan look around you[r] house and if you have warm clothes, blankets, or shoes please bring it to us, so we can donate them.

If Afghan officials are denying infant deaths in refugee camps, imagine the excessive denial and resistance facing NGOs like Young Women for Change. Noorjahan explains that every male and female who come to work for the organization (pictured here) has to fight extremely hard to be there because of cultural norms. Yet, Noorjahan also shares how incredible the need for grassroots advocacy.

"According to Human Rights Council’s report of 2010, 85 per cent of women in Afghanistan face domestic violence," says Noorjahan.

"Violence in schools, harassment in the work place, street harassment and assault and rape are also very common, but often ignored or silenced. The majority of female students in the universities are likely to be harassed or assaulted at least once during their college years. These issues have led to small number of women going to colleges and universities."

Women for Women International reports that in Afghanistan, 85% of women have no formal education. Sweeta Noori, Women for Women International's Country Director in Afghanistan says,"Women in Afghanistan have the courage to move forward - they want support. They want people to stand with them whilst they walk forward, and then let them go."

Walking forward after war is not a simple act with few steps. It takes many. And, women in Afghanistan have been living in war since October 7, 2001. Yet, Noorjahan reminds war was pervasive even before then.

The [Afghanistan] war has not only made the country unsafe, especially for women, but it has also influenced people’s mindset. Because for over thirty years, due to wars, women were not as active in the social life, now it comes as a shock when women do partake in the society and it causes backlash. In addition, the war has caused Afghans to refuse to think long-term so in our decision making we often focus on now and today, rather than a better future, because we are not sure if there will be a future. Based on this, volunteerism has decreased, and very few youth are willing to work for long-term goals.

In 2011, the Afghan Women's Network launched and ran the Afghan Green Campaign to show women's dedication to being part of the political sphere. Women wore green scarves edged in red and black stripes (Afghanistan's flag colors), into which they sewed messages such as, “Our vote is our future.” Pictured is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who supported the campaign.

What would YWC's Noorjahan say to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about how to improve women's lives in Afghanistan?

I would pledge to focus efforts on empowering women in the grassroots level. This empowerment should be focus on the economical involvement of women. History is witness that when women are part of the economical life of a country, violations of their rights decrease and they are enabled to say no to violence because they can ran their life independently. I believe it is essential to have a government in Afghanistan that will respect women’s rights and put effort into making it safe for all women across the country...

Recently, YWC completed research on street harassment in Afghanistan and is now creating literacy and English language classes for women, posting awareness posters on violence and education for women on the city walls, and launching exhibitions of posters and photos that are about women’s rights. Currently, they are also working on creating a harassment-free, female-only internet café for women in Kabul.

What They Bear. Why They Run.

This week, millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a war-ravaged African country, voted in their second ever presidential and parliamentary election.

With a population of over 70 million and one of the highest occurrences of rape in the world, the New York Times reported fear of violent outbreaks due to Congo’s elections because of fraudulent politics and, essentially, DRC's reverse development. “This year the United Nations ranked it dead last of the 187 countries on the Human Development Index.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo is also known to be one of the worst places on earth to be a woman.

In mid-May, a study in the American Journal of Public Health, found that 400,000 females aged 15-49 were raped over a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007. The greatest numbers of rapes were found in DRC's North Kivu. There an average of 67 women out of 1,000 have been raped. At least once. That’s 48 women an hour.

Imagine. Having to go into a forest. The only place. To find food. For your children.
Imagine. Emerging raped. Not once. Not twice. Every time. Any time. Whenever.
Imagine. Returning home. And being raped. By your partner.

According to the Christan Science Monitor, this is daily life for Congolese women. “Rape is becoming part of the culture,” said Michael Van Rooyen, the director of Harvard’s Humanitarian Initiative and an expert on rape in the Congo.

One Man’s Journey for Congolese Women
For two years, Londoner Chris Jackson has lived in absolute dedication to sport, not just as a human rights advocate but also as an athlete and spokesperson for Congolese rape victims. He’s completed myriad heroic athletic acts to raise awareness of the horror women in Congo live every single day of their lives. Rampant and repeated sexual violence. Rape as a weapon of war.

Social Good Summit: Changing the World Through New Technology

Bloggers, media, NGOs, celebrities, and global thought leaders from a variety of public health and human rights spectrums converged this week on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for the Social Good Summit-- presented by Mashable, 92nd Street Y, and the United Nations Foundation--to discuss the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve the world’s greatest challenges. Meanwhile, about 40 blocks south in Midtown Manhattan, UN Week unfolded for high-level government agencies and officials in the 66th session of the General Assembly. Actually, there are so many big events happening this week that The Daily Beast announced the world has come to NYC.

What happens when you place United Nation members, health experts, social entrepreneurs, activists, athletes, and some of the most media-savvy professionals together? A social media extravaganza focused on how to change, help, and better our world from a global perspective. A dynamic dialogue of such range, depth, and inspiration that the outcomes could, in fact, be earth changing.

The Social Good Summit opened with Ted Turner’s thoughts on war and why the United Nations remains relevant. One of Turner’s biggest focuses, however, was also on how population size demands more focus on family planning. In a later session that day, Raj Shah, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) echoed similar thoughts when he took the stage to discuss “Developing Technology for the Developing World: the Big Challenges.” Shah's focus on the Horn of Africa tells how deep this crisis currently and how it could become even more so.

Watch live streaming video from mashable at livestream.com

Not surprisingly, such great interviews from some of our world’s greatest thinkers and innovators continuously roared across most organizations’ Facebook pages because the entire meeting is available on Livestream. While highly relevant, how to ensure audiences don’t get overwhelmed by these short, successive, and numerous talks?

On Achieving Social Justice

Head of UN Women Michelle Bachelet discusses social justice.

At the conclusion of a listening exercise that lasted months, the newly created UN Women released their strategic plan in June. Last week came the release of their flagship report, Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice, which lends even more validity as to why the formation of UN Women is a vital step forward, even if the organization remains underfunded.


Creating Macro Level Change
Months ago, on Columbia University’s campus where, former Chilean President Michele Bachelet was first being introduced to the world as the head of UN Women during the UN’s high plenary sessions, I marveled at how small the audience was compared to an event that previous Sunday where Bachelet spoke at a conference focused on women’s rights at the New School. The students of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) were brimming over with desire to hear Bachelet speak, but they had to prove their credentials before being allowed entry (as if every up-and-coming humanitarian already knew her or his role in women’s rights).

Bachelet’s point that evening was the best way to manage expectation is to share the truth. Recently, the Guardian reported that Bachelet said the UN Women flagship report, “reminds us of the remarkable advances that have been made over the past century in the quest for gender equality and women's empowerment. However it also underscores the fact that despite widespread guarantees of equality, the reality for many millions of women is that justice remains out of reach…. For millions of women in both rich and poor countries, the search for justice is fraught with difficulty and is often expensive; laws and legal systems frequently discriminate against them."

The report confirms the high-level agency is on task and confronting statistics through a worldwide lens on how to forge the most effective legal outcomes and make them inherent for all women. However, Women’s eNews reported when queried how UN Women is pushing for country accountability, Bachelet did not offer any specifics. "It's not only about meeting with countries," she responded. It's about "encouraging decision-making authority for women. . . We have to work with the judicial system."

This does not create a second of rest for any of us, no matter our place in the world. Not only does the report break down the number of poverty stricken, health challenged, or abused female populations by country, it also reminds how important it is to highlight massive achievements within our most prestigious human rights-focused organizations, but also the every day actions that pave the way for women to forge better, more equitable lives.

On Endurance, Congo, and Sexual Violence

On Sunday, May 29, a day after International Day of Action for Women’s Health, I raced and completed once again Comrades Marathon, known to be one of the most competitive ultra-marathon's in the world. I ran 56 miles uphill in an act of solidarity for the resilient Congolese women and children whose lives continue to be ravaged by rape as a weapon of war.

I ran for Run for Congo Women in support of Women for Women International (WfWI), two organizations that help women in conflict find their footing. WfWI works with socially excluded women in eight countries where war and conflict have devastated lives and communities. They create places of safety so that women can develop life and professional skills after harm. I ran for hope and for shared sisterhood as someone once victimized by sexual assault. I ran for Aimerance Byamungu's story of hope.

In the region of Congo where WfWI works, levels of poverty are high and there are many street children. Aimerance Byamungu, a married mother of a 4-year-old boy, was selling fresh milk and was only surviving on £8 per week. Before Women for Women International's programme, she ran her business using basic numeracy. After studying our business skills topics, Aimerance is now equipped with the knowledge she needs to make her business a success and support herself and her young son. Thanks to her new knowledge of profit and loss and accountancy, her income has increased to £25 per week.

MAKE CHANGE: Sign the Congo NOW! Petition

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is said to be the most dangerous place to be a woman. Every week over 150 Congolese women are raped as a weapon of war. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Congolese women have been raped for the past 15 years because conflict has enveloped the region. Death tolls range between three to five million people.

In his new book, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa, Jason K. Stearns, who once worked for the United Nations in Congo, traces the story of why and how atrocious acts such as mass rape and genocide continue to be ignored. Recently, a New York Times article cited a study within Dancing in the Glory of Monsters that shows how in 2006 the NY Times gave four times as much coverage to Darfur, although Congolese have died in far greater numbers.

The reason? The NY Times says the DRC's conflict is exceptionally stunning in its complexity, which, frankly, it is. In consequence, enter the creation of Congo NOW!, a coalition of NGO’s and grassroots organizations ranging from Oxfam International to Save the Children that are joining together in order to campaign for the safety of Congolese women and children.

The International Rescue Committee, a member of the coalition, recently sent out a field report about the Congo emergency and highlighted "typical" rape victims' experiences.

I was out in the field farming when several soldiers approached me. I was dragged out of the field against my will. I was held captive and raped repeatedly for days. When I was released, I had nowhere to go to get medical care for my injuries. My family and friends shunned me as a disgraced woman.

How many Congolese women and children have to be victimized before there is a solution to stop mass rape?

According to Kate Hughes of Women for Women International, an organization with rehabilitative programs focusing on Congolese women traumatized by rape, "the Congo Now! coalition has agreed on four policy points to halt sexual violence in the DRC."

1. Stop natural resources fueling the conflict.
2. Address the devastating causes and consequences of the conflict and sexual violence particularly for women and children
3. Protect civilians from violence.
4. Promote nonmilitary and regional solutions to the conflict.

"We have launched the campaign," Kate says, "by starting with an action focused on sexual violence. The action is an e-action targeting Lynne Featherstone, International Violence Against Women champion."

Help support the work of Congo Now! and sign the Congo Now! petition. Your signature brings women and children in Congo one step closer to safety.

Photo credit: Fiona and Studio 9 Films

His Courageous Dream, 43 Years Later

Today, April 4, is the 43rd anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1968 assassination.

Two years ago, I came upon the FBI report describing his death while researching the 1968 race riots throughout America and the world. The 113 page document opens with a 1977 memo citing, "no decision has been made yet whether this report will be released to the public." However, what startled me was not that the files could be kept private, but that Dr. King was shot in a moment of regularity when so much of his life was filled with extremely courageous acts. At the time of his death, King was simply standing outside his Memphis hotel room on a balcony discussing the weather with his driver who said to bring a top coat so he would not be cold. That image of Dr. King has stayed with me ever since.

The night before his death, on April 3rd, King delivered his I've Been to the Mountaintop speech at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. He had returned to Memphis to lend support to the striking sanitation workers and announce a peaceful April 8 march. Earlier that day, King and his aids were served a restraining order by Federal Marshals to halt the massive protest, because in late March similar Memphis protests had erupted into violence. Those protests had deeply distressed King due to his belief in peaceful, nonviolent assembly. In the Mountaintop speech, Dr. King went through history citing great thinkers from Aristotle onward, but King focused on the message those who assemble often share when he said:

"If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy." Now that's a strange statement to make because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around...But I know, somehow only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding -- something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis Tennessee -- the cry is always the same -- "We want to be free."

How relevant do his words remain?

The next day, Dr. King was killed by one gunshot wound. Today in NPR and Washington Post Op-Eds Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, discusses how deeply King's vision still affects our current lives and why it is so important to honor and continue his legacy.

In the NPR article, Jealous shares how scared he was seventeen years ago while organizing marches in Mississippi, knowing full well of the many threats. Yet, he reminded himself then of something his parents always used to tell him. "We all get scared. The question, son, is how you respond. If you act in response to your fears, you are a coward. If you act in spite of your fears, you are courageous."

Today, Jealous also reminds that many want to believe protestors and marchers throughout the United States and the world do not face death threats and harm on a daily basis, but the fact is political violence, discrimination, and injustice are still very much a part of humanity's story -- here in America and internationally. Jealous shares how on January 17, 2011, just a week after Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in Arizona, police in Washington state quickly defused a bomb found on a bench in downtown Spokane. It was placed there to explode as NAACP marchers passed by.

In the Washington Post article, Jealous says to look to Wisconsin where public workers, teachers, and nurses recently lost their bargaining rights even as the state stripped them of benefits and wages. So, they protested. In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his I Have a Dream speech, in which he said,

We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity in this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

How relevant do his words remain?

I write often about the perils and strength of women all over the world who are fighting every day for gender equity and justice. For safety. For access to basic health care or public services for themselves and their children. Last week, Amnesty International called for the release of the young Libyan female lawyer who is being detained after she proclaimed el-Qaddafi's forces raped her while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on the Arab world to include women in government and institutions.

"The spirit and devotion exemplified by women in North Africa and the Middle East -- and the ongoing challenges they continue to face -- is both an inspiration to us all and a reminder that discrimination and gender-based violence endures around the world," Clinton said.

Yet, if Dr. King's legacy -- his dream -- is to end inequality so people all over the world are rich with freedom and justice, is the path of my country, of our world, moving us closer or farther away? The protests in North Africa and the Middle East show many people with collective and individual courage who are advocating for equality through peaceful demonstration. The protests in Wisconsin mirror the same. On this day when Americans honor a man whose vision was extraordinary and egalitarian, my hope is one day we'll all be able to acknowledge we're not just honoring, but living Dr. King's dream.

The NAACP plans 40 peaceful actions today as part of their We Are One campaign.

Libya's Ceasefire and the Safety of Journalists

In a strong move, UN Security Council Resolution 1973 has called to halt military action in Libya to ensure citizens' safety. Arab countries, European nations, and the United States all backed the resolution to force a ceasefire.

France took the lead in negotiations and now promises immediate action to impose the no fly zone. Located in North Africa, Libya has been under the control of Muammar el-Qaddafi for forty years, but in mid-February protestors and rebel groups began an uprising after witnessing successful protests throughout the Arab world.

According to the New York Times, "in Benghazi, a coastal city about 400 miles east of Tripoli, the BBC quoted witnesses as saying that the unrest was inspired by the arrest of a human rights lawyer, Fathi Terbil, who has been critical of the government. Around 2,000 people took part, the BBC said, quoting witnesses as saying the police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. The number of injuries was unclear."

By March 5, el-Qaddafi's forces had killed at least 35 people when they opened fire on unarmed protestors in Tripoli and Zawiyah. From there, escalating daily violence has occurred against innocent victims in both Libya and Bahrain.

Captured Journalists Are Safe
Today, four New York Times journalists held in Libya are also said to be freed after finally making contact with their families for the first time on Thursday since their disappearance on Tuesday. The Libyan government held Anthony Shahid, the Times's Beirut bureau chief, Tyler Hicks, Stephen Farrell, and Lynsey Addario. Qaddafi's son Saif al-Islam gave a statement of release citing that the four were taken into custody after illegally entering the country.

"...when the army, when they liberated the city of Ajdabiya from the terroists and they found her, they arrest her because you know, foreigner in this place. But then they were happy because they found out she is American, not European. And thanks to that, she will be free tomorrow."

The "her" Qaddafi's son was referring to Lynsey Addario, the sole female being held, highlights how often gender plays a role for female journalists who are covering conflict and whose work focuses on women's issues in some of the most dangerous areas of the world, such as Addario's Veiled Rebellion chronicling Afghan women's fight for justice amid extreme war and poverty.

Number of Sexually Assaulted Journalists Unknown

In February, journalist Laura Logan was sexually assaulted during a mass "celebration" in Egypt post-protest, but was saved by a group of women from the crowd. In an Op-Ed soon after Logan's return to the United States to heal with her family, reporter Kim Barker's Why We Need Women in War Zones confronted outcomes of Logan breaking the silence around women journalists and photographers being assaulted in not only war zones, but in places ranging from their hotel rooms to mass mobs. She cited that although the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) does keep data on how many journalists are killed in action per year, they do not keep data on how many journalists, either men or women, are sexually assaulted or raped -- even though sexual violence is recognized as a legitimate and pervasive issue. Why not confront it? The CPJ claims that sexual assault of journalists simply goes underreported, even as their handbook to date does not even include a chapter on the topic (though one is being added in a future release).

However, the CPJ has voiced sexual assault as a serious issue for journalists to politicians in the past. "We [CPJ] have advocated for our concerns about sexual violence against journalists on a political level. For instance, we wrote to U.S. Secratary of State Hillary Clinton in September 2009 to raise awareness about the safety of three women reporters covering women's issues and 'femicide' in Bukavu, in Congo. The unstable eastern region, which is rich in minerals but devastated by war and atrocities against civilians, including the systematic rape of women, is currently one of Africa's most dangerous cities for journalists, according to CPJ research."

The Democratic Republic of Congo is often considered to be the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman, whether journalist or civilian. Yet, the importance of women journalists and photographers are inherent in the stories they shape and share about war-torn regions. Barker's Why We Need Women in War Zones reflects, "Look at the articles about women who set themselves on fire in Afghanistan to protest their arranged marriages, or about girls being maimed by fundamentalists, about child marriage in India, about rape in Congo and Haiti. Female journalists often tell those stories in the most compelling ways, because abused women are sometimes more comfortable talking to them. And those stories are at least as important as accounts of battle."

Barker also discusses how unfortunate it would be if Logan's going public made it tougher for female journalists to get assigned to war zones. "The publicity around Ms. Logan's attack could make editors think, 'Why take the risk?' That would be the wrong lesson. Women can cover the fighting as well as men, depending on their courage."

With Libya as an example, hopefully one where all four journalists are released relatively unscathed, the hope is that journalists who risk their lives to grant the vulnerable a voice, join Laura Logan in breaking the silence about sexual violence and assault against journalists to bring formidable change and soon. This weekend two museums on two coasts will exhibit female-focused photography exhibitions demonstrating the strength and voice that women photographers and journalists bring to world issues.

Photo credit: Reuters

Environmental Crises Collide in Japan

To imagine what survivors face in Japan seems almost impossible. News photos and videos attempt to capture and encapsulate the destruction. We click through feeling compassion and disbelief, trying to understand the experiences of those who have lived and how many are gone. So far, the media has reported the slowly rising death toll as close to 3,000 -- even as whole towns, like Sendai pictured above, list missing persons well beyond that number. Bodies are washing up on shore. Already 400,000 to 500,000 survivors are displaced.

As search and rescue teams wade through what already looks like complete devastation how did they find much less help those who survived? Miraculous stories emerge of a 60-year-old man riding his roof for two days after drifting nine miles out to sea. A survivor is pulled from the rubble after four days. In the picture below, a Red Cross volunteer feeds an infant who was rescued.

Yet, on top of aftershocks climbing as high as 6.0 after the initial 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami reaching heights of 30 feet, now radiation releases are strengthening as a third explosion has rocked the Ukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Northeastern Japan. In the face of already two catastrophic environmental disasters, Japan now risks what seems to be an escalating man-made third. Major news sources have started conjuring memories of nuclear meltdowns at facilities such as Three Mile Island in 1979, an accident that caused my own family to evacuate, including my mother who was almost nine months pregnant with me, and also the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Currently, how much radiation or how great the impact on Japan's public health remains unfolding, but there is no doubt converging crises are mounting every single day.

According to Agence-France Press, this morning the World Health Organization (WHO) cited they are ready to assist Japan in any way possible if and when help is needed.

"We have expressed our availability to participate in a mission, to offer necessary assistance, if it is required, " said Maria Neira, the UN health agency's director of public health and environment.

"We are ready," she added.

The question is: When will WHO be called on for assistance? Already basic supplies run low, survivors are being evacuated from areas listed as dangerous due to escalating radiation levels, and reports of radiation exposure are climbing, hence the crucial need for health agencies to step in and assist. According to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the rescue effort is currently being led by the Japanese government along with local aid groups with extensive disaster response experience, including expert support from fifteen countries. The IRC was not able to respond to the disaster due to red tape when they could not get necessary papers from the British Embassy.

"Our emergency team members are on standby to respond and fill in gaps as needed," says Gillian Dunn, the IRC's director of emergency response programs.

"In the meantime, we are starting direct assistance to Japanese aid groups with better access to communities in need and survivors who have been evacuated."

As multiple crises evolve in Japan, all resources need to be pulled on to help in every capacity. Last month, New Zealand experienced a 7.0 earthquake that caused between $7 to $11 billion dollars in damage. Comparing Japan's present situation lends some perspective to how much support the challenged country needs.

Photo credit: Reuters

MAKE CHANGE: Join Me on the Bridge for the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day

Ten years ago, when I was twenty-two years old my sister was in downtown Manhattan on the morning of September 11, 2001. I will never forget every detail of that day. Frantically dialing her cell phone number from my Midtown Manhattan office and holding a sign with her name outside my building while watching the Towers burn then fall. Everything, everyone was on fast forward then pause. I remember walking across the 59th Street Bridge more afraid than I ever have been still, yet knowing she waited for me to arrive home to her in Brooklyn. Safe. As sisters, we spent one day in outright war. Afghanistan has spent ten years due to the War on Terror. According to Women for Women International, in 2010 alone, civilian casualties in the War on Terror are estimated at 10,000 people. Since 1998, the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo has lost 5.4 million civilians. None of these numbers account for rape as a weapon of war, a recognized and grueling byproduct of conflict.

On March 8, 2011, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Mexico to China to India to Brazil to Afghanistan, women, men, and children are coming together on bridges all over the world to honor the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day in a call for peace. Women for Women International's Join Me on the Bridge Campaign is that call for peace: for women and children in countries where war is their every day challenge in life, and has been repeatedly for so many years fathoming their daily existence seems almost impossible.

In San Francisco, the event is hosted by Google and is meeting at Crissy Field before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. In London, the march is lead by Annie Lennox and traverses the Millennium Bridge. In New York, we converge on the Brooklyn Bridge where Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International, will speak. In China, people will gather on the Great Wall. In Paris, they will gather on March 6 and March 8 to honor the Join Me on the Bridge Campaign.


The 100th anniversary of International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future. One week from now, on the 100th anniversary honor and advocate for peace. In Egypt, we witnessed that the mass can come together in hope and create legitimate change.

Kate Nustedt, Executive Director of Women for Women International UK says, “A 100 years ago brave women stood up and changed the world for so many of us. Today, there are equally brave women standing up for equality in Afghanistan and other war-torn countries. Now is our chance to get behind these women and help bring peace and greater security to their lives.”

You can sign the petition here to acknowledge that you support women in Afghanistan and you can attend a Join Me on the Bridge event near you.

After Egypt, Secretary Clinton Takes on Internet Freedom

Over the past weeks, the world has watched as the Internet and social media played credible, if not vibrant, roles in the toppling of oppressive regimes in both Tunisia and Egypt. As an activist for the public health and human rights of females, frankly, I feel profound satisfaction just typing that last sentence because in both examples, the mass showed collective voice, power, and the strength to fight back -- and win -- even when access to the Internet was revoked.

Undoubtedly, momentum and solidarity arose from both in person and Internet discussions, then grew into collective action followed by formidable outcomes. No one can argue, however, access to technology can have profound social, economic, and political consequences. From public health to women's rights, texting, cell phones, and the Internet -- specifically, FaceBook, Twitter, and YouTube -- are all tools that can potentially create a better future, a freer world, for all. In fact, the picture shown here reflects a young protester in Beirut with a mock ad showing both Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak "friending" one another via FaceBook. Both, of course, were recently ousted using some of these very social media tools to help force political upheaval.

This afternoon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke from Georgetown University about Internet freedom. She cited abundant examples of how profound the Internet has become due to the 3 billion people worldwide who are using it and hailed it "the world's town square, classroom, marketplace, coffee house, and nightclub."

Last year, Clinton gave a speech announcing the Internet as a top priority in foreign policy. Today she discussed that just "last week we [the U.S. Government] launched Twitter feeds in Arabic, and Farsi, adding to the ones we have in French and Spanish."

Clinton added, "We'll start similar ones in Chinese, Russian and Hindi. This is enabling us to have real-time two-way conversations with people wherever there is a connection that governments do not block."

But what about the governments that do block? Clinton singled out China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Syria, and Vietnam as countries that restrict access to the Internet or that arrest bloggers who speak out against their country's policies. Indeed, the Christian Science Monitor's Hillary Clinton's Plan to Topple Dictator's with an Open Internet was one of the most leading headlines of the day, because although Clinton adamantly supports the freedom of the Internet and made just realizations as to the impact the Internet has on our current and future world, she still acknowledged that the United States does not recognize a "silver bullet" approach. Yet, Clinton said after spending $20 million on funding already, an additional $25 million of supportive grants is forthcoming.

The Huffington Post highlighted one of Clinton's strongest assertions:

The Internet creates a 'dictator's dilemma' where oppressive regimes 'choose between letting the walls fall or paying the price to keep them standing -- which means both doubling down on a losing hand by resorting to greater oppression, and enduring the escalating opportunity cost of missing out on the ideas that have been blocked.'

Agence-France Press (AFP) reported that Clinton's speech came on the same day that "a US judge was holding a hearing in Virginia into a US government attempt to obtain information about the Twitter accounts of people connected with WikiLeaks."

Photo credit: Washington Post

Afghanistan: In Present, Past, and Future

As mounting protests sweep through Egypt and tensions rise across the Middle East, last weekend Bloomberg published U.S., Afghan Study Finds Mineral Deposits Worth $3 Trillion highlighting that the initial deposit of minerals in Afghanistan thought in June 2010 to be worth $1 trillion dollars now totals $3 trillion. The New York Times also reported United Nations and Afhanistan officials were signing a formal agreement to end the, “recruitment of children into its police forces and ban the common practice of boys being used as sex slaves by military commanders.”

A vast swath of minerals and resources. War. Child soldiers. Is this Congo or Afghanistan? Women for Women International’s Factsheet for the upcoming 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day cites that 75% of civilians killed in war are actually women and children. Yet, Women for Women International (WfWI) exists to help women and children survivors of war rebuild their lives and has been on the ground in Afghanistan and Congo implementing programs since 1993. This year the organization is hosting their second call to action in a campaign called Join Me on the Bridge. Held on March 8, 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, women will gather all over the world on bridges in that shared call for peace.

This year also marks the ten year anniversary of September 11, 2001, the day which provoked the War on Terror and initial invasion of Afghanistan. Late last year, after Afghanistan elections took place and the US announced plans for a 2011 slowdown and 2014 pullout, myriad articles focusing on Afghanistan were published by mainstream news sources reflecting life for the Afghanistan women and children who remain alive.

In Nicholas Kristof's What About Afghan Women?, the New York Times reporter and human rights advocate shares that although less women wear the full burqa, they keep them on hand “just in case.” Kristof also shares that most women he interviewed, “favored making a deal with the Taliban — simply because it would bring peace. For them, the Taliban regime was awful, but a perpetual war may be worse.”

“Oppression,” Kristof says, “is rooted not only in the Taliban but also in the culture.”

Nancy Hatch Dupree, cofounder of The Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation, which is dedicated exclusively to “nation building through information sharing and to raise awareness and broaden knowledge about the history and culture of the people of Afghanistan throughout the United States,” has spent most of her life studying Afghan culture.

Recently honored as archivist of the year, Dupree was quoted in 2009 by the Global Post commenting on the U.S. Military and diplomatic approach in Afghanistan. “They make strategies for people who they don’t talk to... They sit behind the fortress with razor wire walls... They don’t seem to realize the strategy has to be about the people,” Dupree said from her home in Kabul.

Last November, Canadian Journalist Sally Armstong’s To the Women of Afghanistan made an outright call for Afghanistan women to push for rights.

Women of Afghanistan, it is time to go to the barricades.

Now is the hour to claim your rights. Negotiations are under way in earnest; the Taliban are at the table, so are the warlords and bandits, tribal elders and the president. There’s not a woman in sight. Yet everyone knows you are the ones who can yank Afghanistan into the 21st century.

You’ve been denied everything from human rights and jobs to health care and education. You refer to your illiteracy as being blind because as one woman said, “I couldn’t read so I couldn’t see what was going on.”

Education of children in Afghanistan has been vehemently disrupted by the war as well as Taliban violence. According to It Takes a Village to Raise a School, published last September, New York University Professor Dana Burde cited a CARE report that shows community-based schools are less terrorized than the 1,000 schools bombed since 2006 that have left less than one percent of Afghan girls in some southern provinces in school and active education. Suicide bombers target girl's schools more often.

In December, National Geographic’s Afghan Women posed the questions: “Why do husbands, fathers, brothers-in-law, even mothers-in-law brutalize the women in their families? Are these violent acts the consequence of a traditional society suddenly, after years of isolation and so much war, being hurled into the 21st century?”

Women with a Technological Edge

Last week Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at a town hall meeting in Oman where she called for the inclusion of women in business as vital for the Arab world to thrive according to The Associated Press. President Barack Obama expressed a similar vision in his June 2009 speech in Cairo where he called for a greater collaboration with the United States and Muslim communities and populations. In late April 2010, Secretary Clinton first announced the TechWomen program during President Obama’s Entrepreneurship Summit.

The Institute of International Education (IIE), a not-for-profit founded in 1919, offers a range of excellent support to scholars and students, one of their most well-known being the Fulbright. Heather Ramsey, Director of three women-focused programs designed, initiated, and managed by IIE West Coast Center in San Francisco recently shared how TechWomen, Women in Technology, and E-Mediat: Tools, Technology, and Training are all moving Muslim women closer to being active and successful entrepreneurs. All three programs are sponsored by the US Department of State and focus on both empowerment and capacity building through technological innovation in the Middle East North Africa region (MENA).

In the summer of 2011, TechWomen will match women in Silicon Valley with their counterparts in the Middle East and North Africa for a mentorship and exchange program at highly regarded technology companies. The plan is to harness the power of global business, technology, and education. According to Heather, “using innovative technologies, cutting-edge content, and social networking tools, TechWomen will foster and develop the next generation of women leaders in the technology field by providing women and girls with the access and opportunity needed to pursue tech-based careers.”

With Microsoft as one of their strongest private sector supporters, for the past five years, Women in Technology (WIT) also empowered entrepreneurial women by concentrating on three core goals:

(1) To provide substantial capacity building to Partner Organizations to expand their reach, sustainability, and ability to serve low and middle income women in underserved areas.
(2) To create a strong base of women with vital IT, business and professional skills, enabling them to advance personally and professionally.
(3) To empower women to play an integral role in shaping their country’s future.

After launching in September 2005 in Yemen, Heather shares the program exceeded expectations from the start. “By focusing on empowering women and expanding their participation in the workforce and civil society by providing partner organizations, and the women they serve, with cutting-edge training in business planning; professional development; and Information Technology was implemented in collaboration with local partners in nine countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen.”

Currently, WIT has trained more than 10,000 women and helped build the capacity of more than 60 local women’s organizations along with 650 trainers in nine countries in the MENA region. More and more statistics indicate a link between women who are economically and technologically empowered lowering the need for humanitarian aid yet raising elements of community health, economy, and peacekeeping in the countries where they live. Heather cites, “there is strong correlation between women’s education, empowerment and employment and economic and political stability. Through the Women in Technology program, we have seen thousands of women gain new skills, confidence and in many cases, livelihoods. This positively impacts their daughters, families, communities and societies. Knowledge of technology is incredibly powerful, and seemingly innocuous. Women armed with technology are change agents. They use these cutting edge skills to build networks, lead their families, gain employment, start businesses, and build civil societies.”

The story of Rana Hadi, a student at the Science College of Baghad, is one of WIT’s most exemplary. She ascended from bomb survivor to wheelchair to WIT member then returned to college. On the day of the attack, she watched her closest friend die while her other one was torn to pieces. “Today, and after all this time has passed, I still relive the disaster minute by minute. The echoes of our giggles preceding the screams are still resonating in my ears whenever I immerse in my thoughts … And whenever I wake up I find my fist clenched in a bloody fist,” said Rana, in late 2008 when WIT asked her to share her story.

She calls her life after the bomb, “my second life, with hope.”

Heather acknowledges how deeply the programs impact not only the women’s lives who are changed by them but how deeply affecting it is to lead such innovative change. Challenges exist, of course, but Heather shares how great the reward of working on the three programs. “As with many women, balancing work and being a (single) mother continues to be my biggest challenge. And, truly, I am so fortunate to have a supportive employer and to work on projects with many extraordinarily strong women and working mothers around the world. This challenge is also my greatest joy. I am proud that these projects will help pave the way to a better future for the women of my daughter’s generation, many of whom may not be as fortunate as she. Practically speaking, I try to take one day at a time, otherwise I can feel overwhelmed, I value the simple joys of seeing my daughter develop each day, and I always remind myself of the enormous challenges faced by the majority of women around the world and the incredible strength and perseverance they exhibit. They inspire me each and every day.”

IIE West Coast is always looking to take WIT and its model to other regions and countries. If you have ideas, questions, or would like to be involved, please contact: Heather Ramsey, Director, Global Partnership, IIE West Coast Center, at hramsey@iie.org.

Haiti: One Year Later

On January 12, 2010, one year ago today, Haiti's main city of Port-au-Prince was the epicenter of a massive earthquake that left millions of already poverty-stricken Haitians homeless and living in tent cities. Her Blueprint reported on Haiti throughout the past year with stories of hope from Human Rights Watch; reports of displacement and tuberculosis from public health expert and the United Nations Special Deputy Envoy to Haiti Paul Farmer; cited the publications created to voice the taboo: sexual violence against women mounting in the tent cities; then, finally the start of a cholera epidemic that according to the Huffington Post's Cholera in Haiti: A Look from the Trenches remains present. Pictured here are a mother and child being cared for by a female health worker in June 2010. As I write this, I wonder if they are alive. If so, their chances of still being displaced within a tent city are almost certain.

In a press release, Joia Mukherjee, Chief Medical Officer at Partners In Health, an organization leading the post-quake recovery that Paul Farmer founded, shared that current conditions remain rather "grim."

Today, we stand with our friends and colleagues from our Haitian sister organization, Zanmi Lasante, and with millions of Haitians in Haiti and abroad to remember that terrible day -- to remember both those who died, and those who suffered and continue to face the painful reality of a Haiti post-January 12, 2010. This is particularly true for over a million internally displaced people living in crowded Port-au-Prince camps. Yet while there should be righteous indignation about the conditions in the camps, we must continue to highlight the plight of the urban and rural poor throughout Haiti whose struggle against poverty and injustice pre-dated the earthquake and has been made immeasurably more difficult by the disaster. The cholera epidemic -- due to lack of access to clean water and sanitation against a backdrop of malnutrition and inadequate health services in much of the country -- is a graphic illustration of the ongoing need. It is easy to understand that optimism would be in short supply. There are, however, glimmers of hope.

Along with the Haitian Ministry of Health and many partner organizations, Partners In Health calls for an international movement of solidarity, similar to the one that brought an end to South Africa's Apartheid. They also call for Haitians to become actors in rebuilding their country alongside the 10,000 NGOs and foreign-government projects so as to create "development of large-scale public infrastructure including health, education, water and sanitation that will reverse the impoverishment of the Haitian people."

One year later vast work remains to be done for those still living in abject poverty and far worse. Glimmers of hope need to be replaced by strategic long-term plans and bold action. Partners In Health one year report on Haiti is available here.

Photo credit: Doctors of the World UK

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Violence in American Politics

Two weeks ago, on New Year's Day as I ran along the Hudson River in Manhattan en route to the Brooklyn Bridge in celebration of a new year, I passed a young woman wearing a shirt that said, "Women's rights are human rights...," the phrase made famous by Hillary Clinton in her rousing 1995 speech delivered at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. The bold, black lettering on the runner's white t-shirt reminded me of the volunteer work I did for Clinton's campaign for the presidency. How often I was jarred while making calls to constituents throughout my country who told me they would never vote for her. "ABC," they said, "Anything But Clinton." When I asked why, it was almost always, "Because she's a woman."

For the past weeks, I've been working on a story about Afghanistan since I landed back in America two months ago and walked into the airport to face an enormous television showing CNN reports of new tanks for the War on Terror, new evidence of terror, new fear to fear. I watched non-US citizens receive ocular scans and a young Indian man lead away from the rest of us to a different room for questioning. Welcome home to America. How much fear will I find here? How much poverty? How much violence?

This past Sunday as I completed my first official training run for Comrades 2011 which I will run for Women for Women International in ode to the silenced hell of violence Congolese women have been living for over a decade; tears came at moments while I ran staring into the sun summoning their plight for my own endurance and strength. I thought again about what I see in our world and now home in my own country. I thought about Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, pictured here, and her weekend shooting, along with 19 others including a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl born on September 11, 2001.

While living in Paris, I read The New York Times daily and during America's 2010 election I was at times horrifed by the language coming out of my country. The rhetoric was volatile. The NY Times piece Being Glenn Beck shared that, "during the first 14 months of his Fox News Show, Beck and his guests mentioned facism 172 times, Nazis 134 times, Hitler 115 times, the Holocaust 58 times, and Joseph Goebbels 8 times."

Enter the media's current discussion of how much violent rhetoric leads to action. The Huffington Post, along with myriad other major new sources, report cross hairs once appeared on Sarah Palin's FaceBook page of Congresswoman Gifford's district. The blog questions whether or not these cross hairs have any bearance on the shooting by noting what major news sources covered their existence versus those who bypassed it, while also citing a March 25, 2010 MSNBC article where Giffords herself says she found the cross hairs relevant. The Washington Post poses the poignant question in the headline, Gabrielle Gifford's Shooting in Tuscon, Did it Stem from State of Political Discourse?

At brunch in Chelsea yesterday, a friend asked if I thought Gifford's shooting had to do with the fact she is a woman in politics. Rather than pummel him with my litany of gender-based violence statistics facing females worldwide, I replied that nothing ever has one reason. Her gender cannot be the only reason. Instead, I shared that as this country wades through the beginning steps of untangling this tragedy and recognizes that violence in America is now undoubtedly creating outright acts of murder in the political sphere that these questions are exactly the kind that need to be addressed and soon.

The Associated Press' Tucson Rampage Casts Light on Toxic Political Tone shares the mounting acts of vandalism and threats Representative Gabrielle Giffords faced before this final horrendous act. In the coming weeks as answers to how and why are found, I hope most for America to shift focus onto what cannot be denied: volatile discourse does nothing to solve this country's mounting needs and though it is not the only reason for Representative Gabrielle Gifford's shooting, it most likely is one of them.