Category Archives: Human Rights

November 19, 2014 · 9:57 am

Equality, Dignity and the Link Between Gender-Based Violence and Sanitation

From the United Nations:

toiletday2014“Equality, Dignity and the Link Between Gender-Based Violence and Sanitation” is the theme for this year’s World Toilet Day, which seeks to put a spotlight on the threat of sexual violence that women and girls face due to the loss of privacy as well as the inequalities that are present in usability. Toilets generally remain inadequate for populations with special needs, such as the disabled and elderly, and women and girls requiring facilities to manage menstrual hygiene.

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October 27, 2014 · 12:30 pm

A few Halloween suggestions

The notices have appeared again outside the Shire.

“Trick-or-Treat in Morningside Gardens will take place on October 31. for If you want trick-or-treaters, please come to the office for a sign to put on your door.”

As Halloween nears, here are some dos and don’ts that make sense to me:

Do support Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

Don’t wear costumes that demean or exploit other peoples

Do use Fair Trade chocolate such as Divine, Equal Exchange, and others

Don’t wear racist or sexist or tasteless costumes

Do prepare to give thanks for what God has done in the lives of faithful people (living and dead) who have touched your life

What would you add?

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August 1, 2014 · 12:21 am

Keep moving

Anguish grips my soul as events unfold in Gaza.

I am cautiously grateful for the cease-fire announced today. I have prayed for peace; now I pray the negotiations will succeed.

I have called on Congress to act for a ceasefire in Gaza and to pursue a lasting peace in Israel-Palestine.

I have contributed to UNRWA to support their work caring for Palestine refugees in Gaza. There are a number of other agencies responding to the needs of Palestinians and Israelis.

photo (71)I also read Izzledin Abuelaish’s book, I Shall Not Hate.

On January 16, 2009, Israeli shells hit Abuelaish’s home in the Gaza Strip. The devastating explosions killed three of his daughters and a niece. A Palestinian doctor, Abuelaish writes of his experience and his refusal to turn to hate and revenge. Faced with heartbreak unimaginable, he called for the peoples of the region to talk to each other and to build relations with each other that could serve as the basis for efforts that might lead to a just peace. Abuelaish lives his call.

As bombs and shells fell on Gaza; as rockets struck Israel; as Israeli tanks rolled and Israeli troops marched; as Palestinians emerged from tunnels; Abuelaish’s words carry a powerful poignancy and a deep urgency.

We use hatred and blame to avoid the reality that eventually we need to come together.

Hatred is an illness. It prevents healing and peace.

Peace is humanity; peace is respect; peace is open dialogue. I don’t think of peace as the absence of anything that just puts it in a negative light. Let’s be positive about what peace is–rather than what it is not.

We do not need to merely accept what is happening around us. We all have the potential to be agents of change.

I believe that Einstein was right when he said life is like riding a bicycle: to keep balanced, we must keep moving. I will keep moving, but I need you to join me in this long journey.

I give thanks for Izzeldin Abuelaish and all who keep moving on the long journey to justice and peace in Gaza and Israel and places around the world. I pray for the courage and strength to keep moving with them.

See you along the Trail.

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July 7, 2014 · 8:11 pm

Get in the swim … or the walk

congoswim_flyer_8.5_x_11_jpeg_medium350Last summer, I took part in the CongoSwim, I did not swim. I walked. On a warm, sunny Louisville day, I walked 22,000 steps. 1,000 steps for each mile across Lake Tahoe where the organizers swam.
Participants and donors made it possible for five women and youth-led groups in the DR Congo to receive grants. The Who We Support page contains information about the work the groups are doing for lasting peace and a future free of violence against women and children.
A CongoSwim will take place again this summer. I will take part. I will walk again. I have not determined how far or where or when, but I will walk.
I invite you to show your support this summer by doing at least one of the following:
  1. Register a summer activity – CongoSwim has expanded beyond swimming and participants are even dedicating their summer-long fitness goals and BBQs with friends
  2. Click DONATE to make a tax-deductible donation
  3. Encourage a child to participate by sharing the FOR KIDS page
  4. Join the August 15 Lake Tahoe Relay (youngest swimmer is 8 and oldest is over 70!)
  5. Sign-up for the August 23 CongoSwim Lake Merritt Walk
  6. Like CongoSwim on Facebook

Get in the swim … or the walk … or support the effort in some other way.

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May 22, 2014 · 9:54 pm

Freedom Summer: The Next Generation

A commemoration of Andrew Goodman, James Earl Chaney, and Michael Schwerner to inspire the continuing struggle for an inclusive society featuring the Rev. Dr. James Forbes

June 9, 2014
West Park Presbyterian Church
The Center at West Park
165 West 86th Street
No advance ticketing. Doors open at 6:30 pm; program begins at 7:00 pm. Admission is free.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Summer and the murders of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner as they canvassed the south in an effort to register African-Americans to vote. Much has changed in the 50 years since that summer, but the daily headlines remind us how far we still have to go in creating a more just and inclusive world for all.

What can we learn from the events of the Freedom Summer to help us in our current struggles for equality? What kind of community existed in the Upper West Side in 1964 to encourage a 20-year-old Andrew Goodman to leave his home to work for civil rights? How can we create and support communities that encourage young people to fight for social justice today?

One June 9, The Center at West Park and West Park Presbyterian Church, in cooperation with the Andrew Goodman Foundation, will present: Freedom Summer: The Next Generation, a commemoration and discussion where we can begin to answer these questions.

The Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Sr. Pastor at Riverside Church, President of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, will be delivering the keynote address. Responding to the keynote and offering their own reflections will be:

  • Linda Sansour, Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York
  • Simran Jeet Singh, Senior Religion Fellow for the Sikh Coalition and the Executive Director for the Sikh Spirit Foundation
  • Stosh Cotler, Chief Executive Officer of Bend the Arc, A Jewish Partnership for Justice

The evening will feature freedom songs from the civil rights era, curated by recording artist and Upper West Sider, Jeremy Mage. Andrew’s brother David is expected to be present, as well as City Council Member Helen Rosenthal and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

Venue: West Park Presbyterian Church is located at 165 West 86th Street, on the northeast corner of Amsterdam Avenue. Enter through Amsterdam Avenue doors. For accessible entrance, use doors on W. 86th Street.

No advance ticketing. Doors open at 6:30 pm; program begins at 7:00 pm. Admission is free.

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The Andrew Goodman Foundation was founded in honor of Andrew Goodman. Andy was a 20-year old college student who joined Freedom Summer in 1964 to register African-Americans to vote. On his first day in Mississippi, June 21, 1964, Andy, along with James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. Andy and his contemporaries were young Americans who joined a movement to take action against injustice. Andy’s actions continue to inspire change agents globally.

Today, The Andrew Goodman Foundation is a key ally to young change agents: offering opportunities for greater civic impact, sponsoring the catalytic stories of the past, and identifying leaders and movements open to new ideas and action. The Foundation’s mission is to empower the next generation to initiate and sustain creative and effective social action; we enable leaders and their communities to flourish by operating and investing in programs that advance civic engagement and intergenerational coalitions.

West Park Presbyterian Church is a diverse, inclusive faith community with an extensive history of cutting edge, social justice advocacy.

The Center at West Park is an independent, nonprofit organization, housed at West-Park Church and dedicated to the work of personal and social transformation through culture and the arts, social activism, intergenerational education, and the cultivation of wonder and the human spirit. For more information, visit .

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May 10, 2014 · 4:34 pm

Pray for a girl; pray for the world

IMG_3074 (800x533)This week, I received a reminder of one way prayer functions.

In response to the kidnapping of a number of school girls in Nigeria on April 14, I joined many people in praying for a specific girl. It makes the horror more manageable and provides a sense of humanity.

A list of names, reportedly those of some of the girls, circulated around the internet. I helped with that circulation.

Some question the use of the girls names. Is the list correct? Was it shared with the permission of the families? Jinna Moore adds questions from a representative of the governor of Borno state: Could the release of the names in some way further endanger the girls? Could it make it easier for those who abducted the girls to identify their parents and extort ransom? Could it place the stigma of rape, whether rape happened or not, over the girl?

I  ponder those questions. And I continue to pray for a specific girl. I use only a first name when I make references and I will not share the list any further.

When I pray for one girl, the web of prayer begins to tremble. And I find myself praying for much more:

for all the girls and their families

for all the people of Nigeria

for all the girls and boys trafficked around the world, in probably every part of the world

for girls and boys, men and women trafficked for sex or for their labor or for their organs

for men, and women, who buy and sell children for sex

for men, and women, who buy and sell children and adults for their labor or their organs

for those who exploit and abuse their brothers and sisters in any way

for those who work to end trafficking, exploitation, and abuse

for those who resort to violence

for those who respond to violence with violence

for those who seek to over come violence with nonviolence.

The list goes on and on and on.

Touch a spider web, set the web a tremble.

Pray for a girl. Pray for the world.

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May 1, 2014 · 10:09 pm

Remember Palestinian workers on International Workers’ Day

May 1. May Day. International Workers’ Day.

A day to give thanks for those who have worked to extend and protect the rights and dignity of workers. A day to remember those who work, often in situations of degradation and exploitation.  A day to commit ourselves to the efforts to ensure that all people have the opportunity for meaningful, safe work that will allow them to support themselves and their dependents.

A post by B’Tselem reminded me of workers I had not considered on this day:

For Palestinian workers, there is not much cause for celebration: the day is a painful reminder that another year has gone by and nothing has changed. Palestinians are still denied basic rights, including the right to earn a living without risking their lives.

B’tselem reports that Israel exploits natural resources of the West Bank (quarries, water, land) for its own needs and those of Israeli settlers even though this violates international law. This is a major factor preventing the development of a Palestinian economy on the West Bank. No Palestinian economy means limited work opportunities for Palestinians. This makes working within Israel the only option available to Palestinians.

Some Palestinians do so illegally. Such workers live in a state of anxiety, fearing detection, arrest, injury. B’Tselem notes that for such workers “labor rights such as a minimum wage, reasonable work hours, and a pension scheme seem like a distant dream.”

Other Palestinians seek to obtain work permits which Israel controls. Even with permits, Palestinian workers may enter Israel only through designated checkpoints. There, B’Tselem reports “harsh conditions of overcrowding, long lines, and cases of humiliation during inspection. On Sundays, the number of Palestinians crossing through both checkpoints peaks at 4,500. The workers and their belongings are scanned with a metal detector. Then, they move on to stations where personnel check their fingerprints and their papers, including their entry permits.”

As International Workers’ Day draws to a close, I give thanks for those workers who helped established rights workers enjoy today. I look for ways to extend and protect those rights. And I think of situations where workers are abused and exploited. I think of the West Bank how the workers there need the occupation to end so a viable economy can be built as steps toward the day when all can be employed in dignity.

Even as I type, I wonder what the workers of Gaza face. And the workers of other places. And I realize I need to learn more about the workers of the world, all the world including the United States.

The words of Joan Baez come back to me:

And the aching workers of the world again shall sing 
These words in mighty choruses to all will bring 
“We shall no longer be the poor 
For no one owns us anymore” 
And the workers of the world again shall sing

May it be so.

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April 23, 2014 · 11:07 pm

Walk for the children of Gaza

UNRWAOn Saturday, May 17, UNRWA USA will sponsor the 3rd Annual Gaza Solidarity 5k Walk/Run to benefit the children of Gaza in Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC.

The proceeds from this event will benefit UNRWA’s psycho-social support program for children in Gaza suffering from psychological trauma and PTSD due to the devastating November 2012 violence and the prolonged blockade. Since November, reported cases of PTSD have risen by more than 100%. 42% of those cases are children under the age of nine.

There are several ways to participate.

  • If you are in Washington, DC, you can walk or run.
  • You can contribute to the cause.
  • Join the conversation on social media by using #Gaza5K in your posts and tweets!
  • If you are in New York, you can join me in walking 5k in Central Park. I will start from Columbus Circle at 10:00 AM. Let me know or meet me there.
  • You can walk wherever you are.
  • You can pray.

Together we can make a difference for the children of Gaza.

American Friends of UNRWA is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the humanitarian and human development work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees through fundraising, advocacy, and outreach. UNRWA USA aims to educate the general American public about the situation of Palestinian refugees and generate support for UNRWA’s work in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

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March 16, 2014 · 3:43 pm

When ten minutes equals a day

How often do you use your smartphone during the day? How long passes between each usage? If you are like me, you may not know.

Over the past ten days or so, I have become a bit more aware of my phone usage as I have participated in the UNICEF Tap Project. This project invites us to go without your phone to help children in need of clean water.

For every ten minutes you don’t touch your phone, UNICEF Tap Project donors and sponsors can fund one day of clean water for a child in need.* It’s that simple.

Here’s how to take part:

  1. Visit uniceftapproject.org on your phone.
  2. Begin the challenge right away to see how long you can go without your phone.
  3. The application will tell you how long you have done so and how many days of water the donors and sponsors will fund.

Of course this is not the most efficient way to provide water for children. The donors and sponsors could and should simply provide the funds directly. I could and should make a direct contribution.

I know that. But I take part anyway. The act of not using my phone serves to remind me of my brothers and sisters who live day after day after day without access to necessities.

I make no comparison. Not using my phone is a choice about a luxury. As UNICEF notes when it comes to water:

No one can survive without water, and yet 768 million people around the world do not have safe, clean water to drink. 2.5 billion people don’t have access to a proper toilet.

It isn’t just inconvenient – it’s lethal.

Every day, 1,400 children die from diseases directly linked to unsafe water or a lack of basic sanitation facilities.

The UNICEF Tap Project helps me remember. It challenges me to act with compassion and to seek justice so that water will roll down for all.

Here’s some more details on the project:

UNICEF works in more than 100 countries to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities. Whether by restoring access to clean water after a disaster or promoting safe hygiene practices in schools and communities, UNICEF is on the ground helping children in need.

What is the UNICEF Tap Project?

The UNICEF Tap Project is a nationwide campaign that provides clean water and adequate sanitation to children around the world.

With just $5, UNICEF can give one child safe drinking water for 200 days.

Since 1990, more than 2.1 billion people have gained access to clean drinking water thanks to the work of UNICEF and its partners.

Founding Agency Partner Droga5 and Media Sponsor MediaVest are supporting the UNICEF Tap Project once again this year. The project is also supported by:

National Sponsor

Giorgio Armani Fragrances
For the fifth year, Giorgio Armani Fragrances returns as national sponsor of the UNICEF Tap Project through its Acqua for Life campaign. Read more.

National Media Sponsor

MediaVest
Since 2008, MediaVest has been a proud supporter of the UNICEF Tap Project, producing a national pro bono media campaign to build awareness throughout the month of March. Read more.

Premier Supporter

UNICEF’s Next Generation
A diverse group of young professionals with a shared commitment to UNICEF’s future, UNICEF’s Next Generation joins the UNICEF Tap Project as time sponsor this year.

*Subject to the pledged limits from our generous donors and sponsors. See uniceftapproject.org/legal for more information. Standard data rates will apply.

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February 20, 2014 · 12:00 am

Japanese-American Remembrance Day

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which set in motion the forced evacuation and incarceration of many thousands of loyal United States citizens solely by reason of their Japanese ancestry.

I have read about the internment of Japanese-Americans. I have seen films and videos. I look forward to Allegiance: A New American Musical.

Yet as Japanese-American Remembrance Day draws to a close, I am reminded that nothing carries the power of speaking with people who experienced internment.

I give thanks for the grace and courage of the Rev. Dan Ogata, Alice Nishi, and Dave Sugiuchi who shared their stories with me. I give thanks for the grace and courage of the people I never met who endured imprisonment in their own land.

I pray my memories will move me to honor the ideals on which the United States is founded and to work for human rights for all people.

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