Put a Little Love in Your Heart… or Stomach

“Think of your fellow man
lend him a helping hand
put a little love in your heart.
You see it’s getting late
oh please don’t hesitate
put a little love in your heart.
And the world will be a better place
and the world will be a better place
for you and me
you just wait and see”

It was love at first site- I fell for a pan like none I had ever seen before.  We were apart from ’09 till last fall since I was overseas but the reunion this February back in the kitchen was exciting. Heart Shaped Banana Bread to be shared with friends and colleagues. One small way I share a little love and put a smile on someone else’s face.  Not the biggest or boldest move ever but one that is simple and tasty nonetheless…

Put a little Love in your heart… or stomach.   

 

Maine-ly for Me

November 6th, 2010, a man chose to betray my trust and turn a consensual interaction into an illegal engagement while I was serving with Peace Corps and he was on military deployment in Uganda.

November 6th, 2011, I boarded a plane for the final trip from Uganda to the States to testify against him in a General Court Martial.  After I had landed, a young woman contacted the prosecutor with an eerily similar story of rape by him 3 years prior while he was stationed in the states.  Because of the new development, a legal issue with the judge that went to the Appellate court, the trial was delayed a few more times before the actual trial where he was acquitted of 6 charges including 2 counts of forcible rape and sexual assault.

The first full week of November has been difficult to say the least.

November 2012 and forward, I refuse to let the memories of the past overcome my ability of seeing beauty in life.  Each year, I will go somewhere stunning, open, and let my spirit be free.  I will surround myself with good people and I will create new memories of happiness and joy.

This years destination?

Maine.

Maine-ly for Me.

Sandi, You Are My Hero

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” -Christopher Reeve

After testifying in an Article 32 in April of 2011 against a man who chose to rape me, an amazing woman said I was her hero.  I knew that pursuing legal justice would be difficult but was determined to persevere and do my duty in preventing him from repeating atrocities towards other women.

At the moment when she said I was her hero,  I questioned if I could handle the deep feelings of disheartedness that came with it.

2 year mark from the incident.  So many overwhelming obstacles, so many tears and disappointments.  The good news is that I have not let this incident define my life or my future.  I have struggled and yet I have grown into a more passionate advocate and resilient woman.

These flowers today are from the same woman who called me her hero so long ago.  I am extremely thankful for the love and support I have received from her and others who have played  a vital role in this healing journey.

DC Stop Modern Slavery Walk 2012

A sea of abolitionists gathered on Saturday in support of the DC Stop Modern Day Slavery Walk which raises funds which will be distributed to NGOs working towards reducing trafficking and responding to victims/survivor needs.

In 2009, I ventured on my first overseas living experience with Word Made Flesh in Kolkata, India.  Daily, we would see the effects of poverty, injustice, and trafficking.  We visited brothels, walked the alleys where 14 year old Nepali girls tried to lengthen the short skirts they were forced to wear. We sat together and hand stitched old saris into purses, building relationships with former sex workers empowered through a job with dignity.  We were friends with Kelsea of Freeset, the one American staff, and I remember the day we sat on the first floor cement and helped cut T-shirt poster board patterns.  (I may have suggested purchasing the Walk shirts from Freeset… I may have been really excited to see their shirts on Saturday).

Speakers included many survivors of trafficking ranging from a woman who was trafficked from West Africa to the states at the age of 9 for forced child labor to take care of someone else’s children.  Girls who were trafficked from DC to New York, beaten daily, and forced to be statutory raped over and over again to whatever man was willing to pay.  Women who are survivors and now raising national awareness such as Tina Frundt at Courtney’s House.  Here, Kay Churnish of ArtWorks for Freedom speaks about using the power of art to fight modern day slavery and human trafficking.

Check out a few of this years partner organizations:

Courtney’s House

Polaris Project

Safe House of Hope

Shared Hope International

Tiny Hands International

Stop Police Harrassment of Indian Anti-Trafficking NGO

In February of 2009, I left America to live amongst the poorest of the poor, to attempt to understand the depth and complexity of injustice and poverty.  I arrived late in Kolkata, sleepy, yearning for knowledge and left even more perplexed with the world.

I learned to love the people I encountered yet learned to hate some of the cultural norms the country accepted.

We walked the streets of Sonagachi, the largest red-light districts in Kolkata, India, and one of the largest in Asia.

I’ll never forget the day we walked by a girl no older than 15 trafficked from Nepal, tugging at the bottom of the short skirt she was forced to wear, trying to lengthen it to cover her bare thighs.  Dark make-up surrounded her frightful eyes yet she was forced to smile as if she enjoyed being exploited over and over again.  She did not ask to be trafficked out of her country and forced to have sex, to be raped, by men she didn’t even speak the same language as.

This memory saddens me.  I am thankful for organizations within India employing staff who are from the area and know the local language and cultural norms who are better equipped with relevant knowledge and skills, are present on the ground to help rescue and restore these young girls and women who are being exploited.

Apne Aap is an anti-trafficking organization in India fighting hard towards rescuing and restoring victims of sex trafficking (you can read more about the founder, who I’ve seen speak before, and their work in Half the Sky)… local police are now harassing the staff and family members which isn’t a surprise since corruption is cavernous within the system.

“One night aunty was drunk and sleeping and her brother was in another brothel. I ran away as fast as I could. I saw a police man on the road and told him my story. He promised to help me. He and his three friends raped me. I returned to Sonagachi and found a new aunty.”-Munni

Police are known to make commission off of the earnings of brothels, informing madams of possible raids so they can hide underage children.  Police are more concerned about their personal gains, financially and sexually, and not at all about the well-being of the girls and women being exploited.  Instead, police are aggressively harassing the Apne Aap staff members who are struggling to help victims of crime.  This is illegal and people need to be held accountable.

Although we may not physically be in India to have our voices heard, we are sitting at some device with internet capability.  We can electronically sign a petition where key stakeholders who are influential are informed about the issues at hand.  Seriously takes a minute to do this.  Staff at Apne Aap take the time to advocate on behalf of these women and I believe you have the time to advocate on behalf of the staff…

Please Go To This Site and Sign the Petition

More information from the petition is below:

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Activists working for Apne Aap Women Worldwide, an Indian anti-sex trafficking organization that has has been instrumental in putting traffickers in jail and  rescuing 25 girls from home-based brothels in Araria, Bihar have been subjected to wrongful confinement, arbitrary arrest, humiliation, harassment and obstruction of movement in the last six months by the Superintendent of Police, Araria, Shivdeep Lande. Should no action be taken against SP Lande, Apne Aap will be unable to challenge traffickers in the district or continue its anti-trafficking operations as the staff are now terrorised both by the police and traffickers. On the night of February 11th 2012, the police illegally detained the 15-year-old daughter of Fatima, a staff member of Apne Aap, in a police lock-up all night.  On February 12th, the police falsely claimed in a First Information Report that two Apne Aap staff members -Soumya Pratheek and Manish Swarnakar-accompanied them on a raid. On June 1st, the police arbitrarily arrested the organization’s Principal Researcher  in Bihar, Sri Mohammed Kalam,and kept him in jail for five nights, after which he was given bail by the judiciary.  On June 2nd, the SP humiliated Md Kalam by parading him in front of the media with handcuffs and ropes around his wrists. Also on June 2nd, the SP announced to the media that his deputy had filed a station diary against the Founder, Ruchira Gupta and State Coordinator, Manish Jha. These acts expose the collusion between the police and traffickers and the urgent need for protection of Apne Aap staff members by holding the police accountable for their illegal actions.

WHAT IS THE PETITION DEMANDING?

We call well-wishers worldwide to demand from the Home Minister of India:

1. SP Shivdeep Lande of Araria be fired from his position as Superintendent of Police

2. Charges  be dropped against Shri Mohammad Kalam, a known anti-trafficking activist and Chief Investigator for Apne Aap

3. Humiliation, harassment and obstruction of movement end towards Apne Aap founder, employees and their families

4. Protection of Apne Aap employees to carry on with anti-trafficking work

Embarking on a New Journey

During trips to DC in 2010/2011, I met individuals who were passionate about ending human trafficking, who were active in social change, and an international diversity that I had never lived amongst before. I would have moved to Portland, Oregon, to be closer to my immediate family but the job opportunities are very few. So, having never been to the East Coast before Peace Corps, I chose to embark on a new journey in DC as I returned to the states after living overseas since February of 2009.

When I first arrived back in the states, life was pretty complicated and overwhelming. Thankfully, there have been some really sweet people who have helped make the transition smoother. While in Pader, this photojournalist from New York came to my village to work with another organization. We became close friends over a Nile talking about the challenges of international development and the daily work, noodle dinners with sauce packets that reminded us of home, and popcorn with flavoring while watching TV shows as long as the laptop battery would stay alive. I was super excited to hear that she was coming back to the states for the holidays and since my family lives in the other Washington, I spent Christmas with her family and then went to New York for the very first time.

DC is great. Not only does my African accent come back full force when the cab driver is from Ethiopia, occasionally there are Ugandan specific events around town. Uganda’s Children Choir performed for free at the Kennedy Center with bright colors shaking at their hips. I’ve been told that I can’t dance “American” any more. Not sure if I ever could in the first place. I enjoy my East African dancing and especially when it is a dance off between friends who served in West Africa.

Events are always happening here. As long as the weather isn’t too hot or raining, with a little effort you can find free or relatively cheap activities around town which helps offset the cost of living. Open art studios, Artomatic, Jazz in the Sculpture Garden, environmental film festivals, and meet-ups. I thoroughly enjoy book discussions on issues from poverty in America to small farm agriculture, panel discussions on international issues with experts in the field, and being engaged in what is happening.

More concrete ways that I have become engaged in DC include being an active member and advocate in the meet-up group DC Stop Modern Slavery where we discuss issues such as the business side of sex trafficking, conversations with expert Kevin Bales on the correlation between the exploitation of human beings and the environment. In March, I started training and volunteering for the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline. Through being part of the WIN, I volunteered for the Truth and Justice Summit in May.

Not everything has been quite so intense though. Since I sold my car back in 2009 and am now living in DC where a car isn’t a necessity, leaving the city is a bit difficult. A couple of fellow Peace Corps Volunteers drove to Indiana for a wedding and I was able to escape for a short weekend to see friends and family that I hadn’t seen since July of 2009. Two full/short days of being reminded how much I love and miss these close friends. We had an enjoyable time despite the limited time available.

Back in DC, I work with an NGO that provides informational resources on Human Trafficking. I’ve accepted that working with intense populations and intense issues is pretty much become my lifestyle over the years. I try to balance this with the happier things in life. I found it humorous when I went to a Nationals game with a mixed group of friends. A couple of the guys and I conversed about a variety of human trafficking issues including forced prostitution in the states as we watched the Nats win. This has surely become an interesting journey. I’m excited for a bit more stability and what is to come…

And We Continue Forward…

Throughout the journeys in the states, India, Uganda, I have always posted photos along the way. Although my laptop is extremely slower now, I hope to be able to post more photos and stories about life after Uganda.  Back to this American Life…