On Paris, Beirut, & Burundi: Responding when the whole world hurts
(Originally published here.)
later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?
it answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere
-Warsan Shire, poet
Symptoms
- 128 or more killed in attacks in Paris in November
- 43 killed in suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon in November
- 7 killed in recent grenade attacks in Burundi as violence there escalates
- 47 killed in Kano & Yola, Nigeria in suicide bombing attacks this week
- 220,000 killed in the Syrian Civil War
- 6,000 Rohingya stranded at sea in May after fleeing Burma due to persecution
- 1051 people killed extra-judicially by police in the U.S. so far this year
- 325 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year
- 414,481 people deported by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement in 2014
- 1419 people have been executed on death row in the U.S. since 1976
- 215-276 children have been killed by U.S. drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan, & Somalia from July-Nov, 2015
- 547 children killed in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in 2014
- $3 billion/year is sent to Israel in military aid each year (& may grow to $4.5)
- 2.2 million people are currently incarcerated in U.S. prisons
- Nearly 60% of the US discretionary budget is spent on the military
Diagnosis
A system that perpetuates trauma, answering violence with more violence. A culture based on fear, which prioritizes the right to arms (for individuals and governments) and the oppression of the poor & disenfranchised over the care of children and community. The drum beats of war beat on. The cries for all (including teachers) to arm themselves increase. We have become numb and must fight our way out of the chains of a culture that is killing us and demands an inhumane price, our souls, for its perpetuation.
Remedy?
To breathe and grieve. To listen to those who suffer most. To resist the cries to answer violence with yet more violence. To withdraw support from those who profit from the war machine. To answer fear with love. To cry out, “stop” to all the wars happening now, cry “no” to the next war. To renounce extremism, racism and religious intolerance. To sing. To commit to reparations. To cook together and share food and land. To begin with healing ourselves, then help others to heal. To see ourselves in the face of another. To knock down borders and walls. To open our hearts and our homes. To seed and create another way to live.
What we’re reading: Week of March 16
What some of AFSC’s staff have been reading this week:
- [web] Why This Woman Can’t Vote via ThinkProgress
Layne Mullet, Media Relations Fellow, says:
“Iowa is one of three U.S. states that permanently disenfranchise people convicted of felonies. This article tells the story of a woman in Iowa and is an example of how our current flawed criminal justice policies inhibit peoples’ voting rights.” - [web] Reducing Illicit Arms Flows and the New Development Agenda
Alice Anukur, Associate Regional Director, Africa Region, says:
“A significant reduction in the trafficking of illicit arms is one of the targets being proposed as part of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the new development framework to come into effect after the Millennium Development Goals. “
- [web] U.N. torture investigator accuses U.S. of delaying prison visits
Lia Lindsay, Policy Impact Coordinator, says:
“The US government has been denying the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture access to isolation units in domestic prisons at at Gitmo. It’s created several media pieces about the situation and opens a window of opportunity to spotlight the use of solitary confinement and call for the end of this form of torture.”
