Yesterday was our last day together as a delegation, and leaving this group was so sad. I never expected for our group to develop so much trust and love in such a short period of time. I'm going to miss hearing everyone's reflections and stories and laughter (so much laughter). I'm going to miss being able to absentmindedly sing "Siyahamba" and have an entire group reply with "ekukhanyen kwenkhos", even if we're on the subway or walking down the street. I feel so grateful and blessed to have shared this experience with these people. They taught me a lot, and I'm excited for the future of the Episcopal Church.
I'm having difficulty processing the content of this week because of the emotion of leaving, but here are some parting thoughts:
1) One thing I realized from both sessions I attended and conversations I had with our delegation was that simply sharing stories can be an incredibly empowering experience. I attended one panel on women's tribunals on climate change and poverty, at which women from Botswana, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Nepal told us about women's tribunals in their countries organized by the GCAP Feminist Task Force. They all emphasized how excited women were to give their testimony. The women were able to see similarities in their experiences and join together to search for solutions. I noticed a similar spirit of solidarity amongst our delegation--we were very open with each other and acted as allies for each other. I felt affirmed and empowered in all of my identities when sharing my story and hearing the stories of others.
2) We shouldn't address women's rights in a vacuum. There's a tendency for people to roll their eyes at "women's issues", but women's issues are issues of poverty and violence and environmental degradation, which affect us all. Prostitution is often more of an issue of demand than of supply. Maternal health affects entire families. Governments with low representation of women miss out on the skills and intelligence of half their population. If we are concerned about the state of humanity, we should be concerned about the state of women.
3) Dignity should be at the heart of every policy. So many speakers used the word dignity, including Bishop Katharine.
4) Being part of a Christian community (and an Episcopal community within that) was very powerful for this sort of event. It grounded us, reminded us of our obligations to one another and to God, and helped us remain optimistic in the face of formidable challenges.
This is really cheesy, but I feel like one of the songs we sang during the Young Adult Delegation-led worship sums up this experience well:
I am one voice and I am singing
I am one voice and I am singing
I am one voice and I am singing
I am not alone
We are two voices, we are singing
We are two voices, we are singing
We are two voices, we are singing
We are not alone.
We are one church and we are singing
We are one church and we are singing
We are one church and we are singing
We are not alone.
We are one world and we'll keep singing
We are one world and we'll keep singing
We are one world and we'll keep singing
We are not alone.
Amani iwe nyani,
Brede
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Day 7
I wrote for the group blog again today, so I'm copying that post again. Except I'm going to add a note before I do that about the presiding bishop, because she met with us (the Episcopal Young Adult Delegation) today!! Ahhhhh!
We got to sit down and talk with her for 45 minutes, and it was awesome. We asked her some pretty blunt questions about the priorities and operations of the Episcopal Church, and she gave thoughtful and engaged responses. She also gave us time to say what we wanted the Church to do, and people gave great answers! It was really really cool that she showed an interest in our thoughts and wanted to be in dialogue with us. Also, one anecdote to demonstrate how wonderful our delegation is: Everybody knows that the p.b. is a really big hero of Lauren's. When it came time to take the picture with her, everybody automatically made the same unvoiced decision to shift around to ensure that Lauren was standing next to her.
Oh yeah, I went to the UN and watched Ban Ki-Moon and all that too.
And here's the rest of my blog for today:
Amani Iwe Nawe
The best part of my day (other than the meeting the presiding bishop, which was incredible) was an unexpected conversation. We had a debriefing and dinner with Ecumenical Women, and we were supposed to discuss advocacy points in small groups while eating. The small group I was in was not gelling at all. People didn’t really want to talk, and the discussions that did happen seemed very forced. After it became clear that we weren’t going to have a conversation as a group, everyone struck up personal conversations with their friends instead. I introduced myself to a woman who hadn’t talked the entire time and looked really bored, and it quickly turned into an amazing conversation. The woman, whose name is Grace, teaches at a university in Tanzania and had been to the CSW before. She told me a lot of really interesting things about Tanzania—I had to resist the temptation to pull out a notebook and pen. One of the most intriguing things she told me was that, in her opinion, using Swahili rather than English to conduct governmental affairs may hurt Tanzania. As a developing country, Tanzania receives assistance from other countries, many of which use English. She thought that the language barrier between Tanzania and the countries supporting it prevented Tanzanians from fully utilizing the resources offered. She suggested that Tanzania should emphasize English until it is more developed, then return to Swahili.
The content of the conversation was not what made it so wonderful, though. I really felt like I connected with Grace and was genuinely engaged in the conversation rather than making small talk. There was one point when she mentioned the difficulty rural children have learning English when their parents don’t speak English at home. I mentioned I had the same difficulty with Spanish, and she laughed and shook my hand in a gesture of understanding. We laughed a lot. The best part of the conversation was when she taught me some Swahili. When I lived in South Africa last summer, my favorite part of the Anglican services was always the exchange of the peace in three different languages (isiXhosa, English, and Afrikaans). Grace taught me to say “peace be with you” in Swahili too: Amani iwe nawe. We said that to each other when we left the debriefing later that night, and it was one of the most genuine and joyous exchanges of peace I have ever shared.
We got to sit down and talk with her for 45 minutes, and it was awesome. We asked her some pretty blunt questions about the priorities and operations of the Episcopal Church, and she gave thoughtful and engaged responses. She also gave us time to say what we wanted the Church to do, and people gave great answers! It was really really cool that she showed an interest in our thoughts and wanted to be in dialogue with us. Also, one anecdote to demonstrate how wonderful our delegation is: Everybody knows that the p.b. is a really big hero of Lauren's. When it came time to take the picture with her, everybody automatically made the same unvoiced decision to shift around to ensure that Lauren was standing next to her.
Oh yeah, I went to the UN and watched Ban Ki-Moon and all that too.
And here's the rest of my blog for today:
Amani Iwe Nawe
The best part of my day (other than the meeting the presiding bishop, which was incredible) was an unexpected conversation. We had a debriefing and dinner with Ecumenical Women, and we were supposed to discuss advocacy points in small groups while eating. The small group I was in was not gelling at all. People didn’t really want to talk, and the discussions that did happen seemed very forced. After it became clear that we weren’t going to have a conversation as a group, everyone struck up personal conversations with their friends instead. I introduced myself to a woman who hadn’t talked the entire time and looked really bored, and it quickly turned into an amazing conversation. The woman, whose name is Grace, teaches at a university in Tanzania and had been to the CSW before. She told me a lot of really interesting things about Tanzania—I had to resist the temptation to pull out a notebook and pen. One of the most intriguing things she told me was that, in her opinion, using Swahili rather than English to conduct governmental affairs may hurt Tanzania. As a developing country, Tanzania receives assistance from other countries, many of which use English. She thought that the language barrier between Tanzania and the countries supporting it prevented Tanzanians from fully utilizing the resources offered. She suggested that Tanzania should emphasize English until it is more developed, then return to Swahili.
The content of the conversation was not what made it so wonderful, though. I really felt like I connected with Grace and was genuinely engaged in the conversation rather than making small talk. There was one point when she mentioned the difficulty rural children have learning English when their parents don’t speak English at home. I mentioned I had the same difficulty with Spanish, and she laughed and shook my hand in a gesture of understanding. We laughed a lot. The best part of the conversation was when she taught me some Swahili. When I lived in South Africa last summer, my favorite part of the Anglican services was always the exchange of the peace in three different languages (isiXhosa, English, and Afrikaans). Grace taught me to say “peace be with you” in Swahili too: Amani iwe nawe. We said that to each other when we left the debriefing later that night, and it was one of the most genuine and joyous exchanges of peace I have ever shared.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Day 6
Today was a mixed bag in terms of sessions, but a fantastic day in terms of conversations with other delegates.
The most interesting panel I went to was the very last one, called "Gender and Poverty: Women's Tribunals on Poverty and Climate Change." The speakers from Nigeria and Botswana were AWESOME. They were articulate and concise, which is frustratingly absent from many of the panels. They were also brilliant. Something in the speech by the woman from Botswana really struck me in a cliche way, but it was still great. She talked about how people used to fish in a river but could no longer fish because lodge-owners took the land for tourism. It reminded me of the saying about giving a man a fish versus teaching him to fish. In this case, people knew how to fish but couldn't. Teaching them to fish would be redundant, and giving them a fish would help for a while, but they really just needed access to the river.
Today was also the panel hosted by the Ecumenical Women young adult delegations, which was sweet. A woman from Uganda told an interesting story in a panel on women organizing post-conflict. She said that when women from around the country first came together, they were really suspicious of each other. But then they realized that they faced similar challenges as women, and their solidarity around those issues allowed them to come together. I also liked the argument made in a panel on Human Trafficking that we should criminalize demand (i.e. mean who pay for sex) rather than demand (i.e. prostitutes).
I've really enjoyed hearing other delegates' reactions to panels (and their reflections on things completely unrelated to panels). I think we're all realizing how much we're going to miss this group when we leave--everybody is thoughtful and hilarious and brings a different perspective. I missed Yale a lot the first day I was here (and was sad to miss the last few feb clubs), but now I'm realizing how refreshing and wonderful it has been to get outside the Yale bubble and spend time with this great group.
We are meeting the presiding bishop tomorrow! For an absolutely hilarious story about an encounter with said presiding bishop in the elevator, see my roommate's blog: http://www.epiphanyyouthdirector.blogspot.com/
No really, you should read it.
good night,
Brede
The most interesting panel I went to was the very last one, called "Gender and Poverty: Women's Tribunals on Poverty and Climate Change." The speakers from Nigeria and Botswana were AWESOME. They were articulate and concise, which is frustratingly absent from many of the panels. They were also brilliant. Something in the speech by the woman from Botswana really struck me in a cliche way, but it was still great. She talked about how people used to fish in a river but could no longer fish because lodge-owners took the land for tourism. It reminded me of the saying about giving a man a fish versus teaching him to fish. In this case, people knew how to fish but couldn't. Teaching them to fish would be redundant, and giving them a fish would help for a while, but they really just needed access to the river.
Today was also the panel hosted by the Ecumenical Women young adult delegations, which was sweet. A woman from Uganda told an interesting story in a panel on women organizing post-conflict. She said that when women from around the country first came together, they were really suspicious of each other. But then they realized that they faced similar challenges as women, and their solidarity around those issues allowed them to come together. I also liked the argument made in a panel on Human Trafficking that we should criminalize demand (i.e. mean who pay for sex) rather than demand (i.e. prostitutes).
I've really enjoyed hearing other delegates' reactions to panels (and their reflections on things completely unrelated to panels). I think we're all realizing how much we're going to miss this group when we leave--everybody is thoughtful and hilarious and brings a different perspective. I missed Yale a lot the first day I was here (and was sad to miss the last few feb clubs), but now I'm realizing how refreshing and wonderful it has been to get outside the Yale bubble and spend time with this great group.
We are meeting the presiding bishop tomorrow! For an absolutely hilarious story about an encounter with said presiding bishop in the elevator, see my roommate's blog: http://www.epiphanyyouthdirector.blogspot.com/
No really, you should read it.
good night,
Brede
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Day 5
Today was one of my days to write for our delegation blog (which, coincidentally, you can read here!: http://geecsw.blogspot.com/), so I'm just going to copy what I wrote there. Woooo!
As I’m writing this, I’m listening to Peter Gabriel’s song “Biko”. The lyrics describe my feelings about the UN CSW well: “You can blow out the candle, but you can’t blow out the fire. Once the flames begin to catch, the wind just blows them higher.” I love these words because they emphasize the importance of working together to combat injustice. Individual women can face enormous barriers, but when they share their stories with others, they share their passion and determination too. Everyone from our delegation has felt the emotional intensity of addressing the barriers that women face globally. These emotions can seem like a burden, but they connect us to the people we’ve met and to their causes. Even if society oppresses one woman (metaphorically blowing out the candle), other women can maintain her spirit and goals (keeping the fire going).
Today I was very moved by the speech of a lesbian activist from Uganda. The most striking thing about her was her response to the recent bill against homosexuality; rather than retreating in the face of possible imprisonment or death, she is working to increase the visibility of the LGBT rights movement in Uganda. When the government attempts to outlaw her identity, she asserts herself even more strongly. I have no idea what will happen to her, but her sharing of her story at the CSW (to an absolutely packed room of people, nonetheless) ignited a fire that reaches well beyond her own flame of resistance. This example is one of many. During every minute of this Commission, women are sharing their stories and lighting fires of solidarity. As important as institutional action is, this solidarity gives me hope where institutions fail.
Peace,
Brede
As I’m writing this, I’m listening to Peter Gabriel’s song “Biko”. The lyrics describe my feelings about the UN CSW well: “You can blow out the candle, but you can’t blow out the fire. Once the flames begin to catch, the wind just blows them higher.” I love these words because they emphasize the importance of working together to combat injustice. Individual women can face enormous barriers, but when they share their stories with others, they share their passion and determination too. Everyone from our delegation has felt the emotional intensity of addressing the barriers that women face globally. These emotions can seem like a burden, but they connect us to the people we’ve met and to their causes. Even if society oppresses one woman (metaphorically blowing out the candle), other women can maintain her spirit and goals (keeping the fire going).
Today I was very moved by the speech of a lesbian activist from Uganda. The most striking thing about her was her response to the recent bill against homosexuality; rather than retreating in the face of possible imprisonment or death, she is working to increase the visibility of the LGBT rights movement in Uganda. When the government attempts to outlaw her identity, she asserts herself even more strongly. I have no idea what will happen to her, but her sharing of her story at the CSW (to an absolutely packed room of people, nonetheless) ignited a fire that reaches well beyond her own flame of resistance. This example is one of many. During every minute of this Commission, women are sharing their stories and lighting fires of solidarity. As important as institutional action is, this solidarity gives me hope where institutions fail.
Peace,
Brede
Monday, March 1, 2010
Day 4
Today was an early day. Ecumenical Women holds a worship service every morning at 8:00 in the chapel at the UNCC (UN Church Center), and this was the morning for the young adult delegations (Episcopal, NCC, and WSCF) to plan and lead the service. We spent yesterday afternoon planning it, but we wanted to run it through before the actual service, so we left the hotel at 6:30. The service went really well—it was worth the early hour. But I am excited for the Episcopal/Anglican service on Wednesday—I’m more comfortable with formal liturgy.
After the service we met with the Episcopal high school delegation. Then I watched the simulcast of the Opening Plenary in the UNCC (I don’t have my badge yet, so I couldn’t watch it from the NGO platform above the General Assembly). The Opening Plenary was depressing in that its content was probably very similar to the content of the Opening Plenary from 5 or even 10 years ago. Common themes included the still-existent gap between rhetoric and implementation and the impracticability of trying to separate the MDGs from gender equality. The opening plenary and various conversations today made me think about the difference between academic and political rhetoric. I noticed this most in representations of female genital mutilation as an immoral practice that the international community has an obligation to address. Everybody condemned it outright, but I thought back to Mahoney’s Africa since 1800 course, in which we read papers challenging the West’s fascination with FGS. The authors pointed to this fascination as an example of the inappropriate sexualizing of African cultures by Western nations. It was interesting to compare the political discussion of FGS to the academic discussion (which asks if we should even be discussing it in political arenas at all).
I went to a fantastic panel on Women, Migration, and Global Turmoil, which featured representatives of the International Trade Federation, Domestic Workers United, and a climate change organization with a name I didn’t catch. They discussed the implications of treating labor as a commodity like any other good, the effects of not including domestic work under labor laws, and the ways in which the environmental movement has framed climate change-related migration. The last subject was especially interesting—the speaker argued that some environmental arguments are leading to prejudice against migrants. For example, when people argue that we should combat climate change because that would help slow the influx of migrants, they imply that migrants are unwanted and unwelcome.
I went to the Africa caucus after lunch, and it wasn’t very informative, but a couple of the speeches were really cool. One speaker said that she could describe the report that the Africa Caucus is releasing this year in four words: celebration, despair, urgency, and hope. I also really liked something the keynote speaker said: “We are on the right track. We just need to accelerate.”
We had short delegation debrief, then I finished the day with a panel called “Unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and young women”, which was great. There were four speakers: a woman from Pakistan who discussed reproductive rights in Southeast Asia, a woman from Malawi who discussed reproductive health programs there, a man from Mexico who discussed men’s role in reproductive rights, and a woman from a U.S. activist group who discussed responses to “anti-choice opposition”. They told stories instead of debating abortion, which made the event more interesting.
The Episcopal Young Adult Delegation had an epic debrief and closing service back at the hotel, with everything from hilarious stories about waiting 5 hours in line for badges (I have yet to get mine… uhh…) to discussions about different emotional responses to the Commission. All the young adult delegations under Ecumenical Women are staying at the same hotel, which is really great because we all end up hanging out in the mezzanine every night writing blogs and planning things. And singing the same song that all of us have stuck in our head from this morning. Somebody’s calling out your name…
After the service we met with the Episcopal high school delegation. Then I watched the simulcast of the Opening Plenary in the UNCC (I don’t have my badge yet, so I couldn’t watch it from the NGO platform above the General Assembly). The Opening Plenary was depressing in that its content was probably very similar to the content of the Opening Plenary from 5 or even 10 years ago. Common themes included the still-existent gap between rhetoric and implementation and the impracticability of trying to separate the MDGs from gender equality. The opening plenary and various conversations today made me think about the difference between academic and political rhetoric. I noticed this most in representations of female genital mutilation as an immoral practice that the international community has an obligation to address. Everybody condemned it outright, but I thought back to Mahoney’s Africa since 1800 course, in which we read papers challenging the West’s fascination with FGS. The authors pointed to this fascination as an example of the inappropriate sexualizing of African cultures by Western nations. It was interesting to compare the political discussion of FGS to the academic discussion (which asks if we should even be discussing it in political arenas at all).
I went to a fantastic panel on Women, Migration, and Global Turmoil, which featured representatives of the International Trade Federation, Domestic Workers United, and a climate change organization with a name I didn’t catch. They discussed the implications of treating labor as a commodity like any other good, the effects of not including domestic work under labor laws, and the ways in which the environmental movement has framed climate change-related migration. The last subject was especially interesting—the speaker argued that some environmental arguments are leading to prejudice against migrants. For example, when people argue that we should combat climate change because that would help slow the influx of migrants, they imply that migrants are unwanted and unwelcome.
I went to the Africa caucus after lunch, and it wasn’t very informative, but a couple of the speeches were really cool. One speaker said that she could describe the report that the Africa Caucus is releasing this year in four words: celebration, despair, urgency, and hope. I also really liked something the keynote speaker said: “We are on the right track. We just need to accelerate.”
We had short delegation debrief, then I finished the day with a panel called “Unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and young women”, which was great. There were four speakers: a woman from Pakistan who discussed reproductive rights in Southeast Asia, a woman from Malawi who discussed reproductive health programs there, a man from Mexico who discussed men’s role in reproductive rights, and a woman from a U.S. activist group who discussed responses to “anti-choice opposition”. They told stories instead of debating abortion, which made the event more interesting.
The Episcopal Young Adult Delegation had an epic debrief and closing service back at the hotel, with everything from hilarious stories about waiting 5 hours in line for badges (I have yet to get mine… uhh…) to discussions about different emotional responses to the Commission. All the young adult delegations under Ecumenical Women are staying at the same hotel, which is really great because we all end up hanging out in the mezzanine every night writing blogs and planning things. And singing the same song that all of us have stuck in our head from this morning. Somebody’s calling out your name…
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