Happy New Years

her great dreaming heart

We cannot evade the struggle between

- success+career+responsibility+obligation

&

- passion+creativity+love+dreams+LOVE

I will take both if I may. I am a dreamer, and in my world, all that is imagined is reality. 

Source: vanessa-alvarez.tumblr.com via Bethany on Pinterest

Source: turnsaroundyou.tumblr.com via Julie on Pinterest

If you dare to dream big enough, loud enough, or brave enough; they will spill forth, bringing with them colour+joy+happiness. 

If the dreams you dream are wild enough, perhaps they will instill hope, and belief, perhaps even love. 

If you dream never stop. 

Surrender - Oprah Master Class

What if the dream you had, was bigger than you? I am a dreamer. I'm forever dreaming. But what if God's dreams for us are bigger? And what if we learnt to surrender them? 


Oprah shares the story that changed her life, and the moment she surrendered it all to God. In that moment she went from an ordinary Chicago women, to Oprah Winfrey. We never know what is on the other side of our surrender.

Fair+True

I'm jumping up and down. I love a new discovery and this is a goody! Even though we're on the other side of the hemisphere, it's been cold enough in these first 3 days of summer to warrant considering purchasing some of these fabulous leggings.

Food Fight

Food. It's our life source. Wars are fought over it. People die because of lack of it. I just got back from my local grosser and restocked my fridge with it. So simple, yet so complex. 


This research article in the Age brings to light a sinister war of greed and power lead by supermarkets Coles and Woolworths. http://www.theage.com.au/business/its-war-but-how-low-can-they-go-20111125-1nz6h.html


This year in one of my classes I learnt the terrible truth of IMF and World Bank deregulation of subsistence farming in places like Somalia, enforcing dependency on US imports. And thriving markets in Sumatra being mysteriously burnt down, only for Carefore to appear a few months later, mere meters away. 


These are the silent food wars, where the little guys, producing the food, are held at ransom by those with power and marketing control.


I now won't shop without my favourite Shop Ethical. Find out who's using slave labour to mine the shiny bits in your favourite foundation, and what milk companies are using ethical practice.


Because I think there's nothing worse than complaining about a problem without offering an alternative solution, I'm stoked that this app loudly and proudly celebrates those brands that are ethical and organic.


Get into it!

Friend

Today I'm thankful for amazing friends. 

{via Free People}

There Is Always Hope

It's a warm spring day and I'm sitting under my umbrella, while butterfly's float by, writing my final essay of the year; on Iraq. 


Don't worry, this isn't about to become a political rant, but I will say this - that place is messed up - even more so by the invasion! But it does get me thinking...about HOPE. 


Recently I was having my head-shots redone, and my photographer started speaking to me, asking me why I do what I do. The more we spoke, the more insight she had into who I was, and suddenly she says, 'Hold that look.' I wasn't sure what 'look' I was holding, but for the next two hour shoot she would say, 'Remember, there is always hope'. 

I hadn't realised until that moment, but that phrase keeps me going. At work I have this Banksy print I got last year in London. Hope keeps us breathing. It keeps us moving forward. 


I often feel like the bearer of bad news. My subjects are often about problems, I work in an environment of problems, our world has become a world full of problems. But what keeps us from curling up and staying in bed, or escaping to a utopia far away? Hope. That intrinsic belief that things will get better. That I[insert your name here] can make a difference. 


There is so much beauty that contrasts and often counteracts the pain and despair. All pain is relevant, but so is all joy. In Uganda I became friends with girls who had experienced horrific tragedy, the likes I cannot comprehend, yet they laughed louder and danced harder than any of my friends back in Australia. 


Where do you see hope?

Jubi-lee (not just a fun word to say)

These past few months I've begun to understand economics and politics, two things I never thought I'd grasp. They always seemed so mentally far fetched from where I was at, that I left them up to my 'smart' friends who studied International Communications and Business. Though my classes this year have challenged me to ask the big questions (like was killing Osama justice?) I kept to subjects like Psychology of Peace and Conflict In South East Asia. When I chose Rethinking Poverty, I had no idea I'd understand 'austerity measures' and 'neoliberalism' so in depth, let alone be applying them to my own thinking. 


Today I'm in lock down, preparing for my lecture on Tuesday. Speaking about Justice and the Church, it is only appropriate to apply Biblical principles and Jesus' teachings. The more I learn, and the more I'm understanding the world, the greater appreciation I have for GOD's way of life. He really did know what He was doing didn't He?


Shane Claiborne puts it so well when he says that if Jesus campaigned for president, His slogan would've been JUBLIEE! He was all about it. GOD economy is way better than America's (not hard right now). The Sabbath were put in place so the Hebrew's wouldn't develop an exploitative economy. No one got too rich or too poor. Those in need gleaned the fields for leftovers and the widows and orphans were taken care of. But the best part was the year of Jubilee. Every 7 years the Jewish people would take a year off working the land. Food was free and any debt incurred was erased! Now that's the kind of society I'd like to live in!


Can  you imagine if every 7 years debts were erased and we shared food. For those 7 years we were working, there would be a sense of reward and rest waiting at the end. What's more, it would be apart of our culture to make sure those starving got something to fill their bellies! The best part is that every 50 years (7 times 7) they had the Jubilee of Jubilee, where GOD restructured the community, reminding the Jews that all property and land belonged to Him and to never return to slavery. This dismantled the social economic inequality of the community. I'm sure America and Greece would welcome some Jubilee love at the moment as well! Trillion is a lot of zero's to add to any number! 


Solutions begin with asking questions. Revolutions begin with recognising a problem. 


He knew what He was doing when He made the world and gave us the Law. Jesus replaced the law with Grace. It became personal. Our own personal economic system of Jubilee.


This is why I buy fair trade. Why I believe in dismantling capitalist systems that enslave children. Why I believe war is inhumane. We were created for equality. 

It's all that we never held

It has no name. Because my vocabulary is weakened. It is as empty as the English tongue is at expressing levels of love. A blanket emotion will not suffice. I'd find the words wrapped up between the dirt roads and twig covered huts. Inside the private words whispered to Heaven. Behind the eyes that catch yours. In the breath before the fall.

Source: beautiful-portals.tumblr.com via Bethany on Pinterest

When we walk, it has little meaning. When we run, where are we going? The tracks we've made are meaningless. Everything is meaningless. Unless our heart is beating. And our head is singing meaning.

I found it in the sunshine. I found it in the moonlight. I lost it when I closed my window. I lost it when I tried to speak. Did you know all that I tried to feel. It was like today. Spring. The almost warmth. Winter is relenting. Soon it will be hot and our feet will burn on the ground and we'll crave a cool moment.

In the meantime I'll stand between the tension of good and evil. Of advocacy and apathy. The boat passed. And another yet. But I'll stand on the shore. I'll wait for the next. My feet free but my hands tied. I'll raise my voice, but will not break a reed.

You can't miss what you never had. But you can love what you've always wanted.

Source: ignitelight.tumblr.com via Bethany on Pinterest

It's what everyone else is writing about - so here's my two cents.

Whether you are for gay marriage or morally object it, basic human rights says we're all entitled to our opinion. However the time the Church spends objecting gay marriage approval is appalling. Christians are known for the things they are against (homosexuality and abortion) rather than the things they are for (which if you follow Jesus are love, peace and justice).

Perhaps if the Church (and I mean the church as a globaly entity - I'm aware there's some excellent churches bucking the norm) were more active in opposing injustices such as war and the killing of civilians, famine when there's enough to go round, and people sleeping rough in our thriving cities, then perhaps they could have a moral leg to stand on.

Homosexuality is a highly contested topic in the scriptures. Theologians grapple to come to a conclusive decision on the subject. But loving people, forgiving the sinner and hanging out with the poor are stated very clearly in the Bible. As Shane Clairborne says, perhaps our highlighters forgot to mark those scriptures.

Marriage is no longer singularly a church event, but has become a contract with the state. The Church is trying to raise her voice against something that has been lost; the sanctity of marriage. If the church opposes homosexuals marrying because they are living in sin, then why should the church be allowing unbelievers to marry who are already living in sexual relationships? Isn't all sin the same in the eyes of God?

I believe we shouldn't fight a 'problem' until we have an alternative solution. The Church is fighting a problem for which the alternative answer for them should be embracing and loving these men and women they are oppressing in their vigilant fight. And in the meantime, while we focus on the political battle to define what marriage is, we still have young men fighting a war that is killing innocent civilians and the worst famine the world has seen in 60 years.

If the argument is centered around the moral demise of a society, ratified by fear, perhaps the church should check herself out in the mirror. What moral integrity do they have when the Bible clearly states to love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:31) and that we are called to heal the broken hearted and set the captives free (Luke 12)?

I'm a total lover of the Lord. He's the reason I get up every morning. But when I look into the eyes of my friends who are being shunned from church because of their lifestyle, my heart breaks for what the church has become. She is a Bride who invites everyone to her wedding. Suddenly this wedding is not dissimilar to a Posh and Beks wedding. Invite only and please wear black. Don't fit in? Sorry buddy - you're out.

He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
Isaiah 42.3 (NLT)

When the food crisis gets personal

We all know it to be true. The news we're feed is skewed. While news of Murdoch and the phone-hacking scandal covers the front pages, we receive mere glimpses of the food crisis in the horn of Africa. So many children are dying, particularly in Somalia (where just this week famine has been declared) that they should be on our front pages daily. This isn't a fast moving tsunami, but the effect on the countries will be just as bad, if not worse.

And our response to this crisis mirror's the media. As a collective western society we have given very little to combat this famine. Every month this year, something has demanded our response and money. With the QLD floods, the Japanese quake and tsunami and storms across America, our wallets are lighter and we're suffering compassion fatigue.

Back in '82 the world was shocked with images of black children and bloated stomachs in Ethiopia as they suffered a famine (LiveAid was one of the responses). Now, despite our easy access to images, footage and information, the response from wealthier countries and individuals, has been marginal. We're being careful, holding onto our pennies, not even willing to spend them on a rainy day.

Personally, regardless of my love for the region, my own pockets have been locked shut and the key thrown away. With a couple of sponsor children and regular donations sent to a few projects I'm connected with, I feel my altruism levels are reaching their limits.

Until it became personal.

Last year on a trip to Uganda (you can read a bit about here), I made friends with a beautiful young Ugandan women. We became fast friends and have been in contact ever since, sending regular emails and updating each other on our uni results, love lives, and our families. A few days ago I asked how they were faring with the current food crisis. Here is her response.

Hi 
My studies are still going on and soon sitting for my exams, and one more year to go.
Sincerely we are affected so much with increase in prices of food stuffs, and we are foregoing some budget by maybe eating once a day,
For example,the price of posho was 600ugshs,but is 3800ugshs,sugar was 1200ugshs,but now is 5800ugshs and it keeps on increasing everyday,
and above all,we are healthy and GOD is so merciful to us.
Thanks
God Bless You
Love you

Remembering Why

In all I am learning, and all I advocate for, it's easy to forget the humanness. Sometimes I lose the balance between doing my job and writing papers,  and petitioning for peace, justice and equality for those who have been silenced.

Today I remember Elvis. My Ugandan son who caught my heart. He's still got it. By now he would almost be two. Those days with him and his mum Betty were some of the happiest of my life.

My friends and I set up a facebook group to raise enough money to support kids like Elvis so they can go to school. Take a look: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gen-Pader/145548282181109

To Carbon Tax or Not?

If you're like me, trying to figure out which side of the carbon tax fence to sit on, maybe this video can help?

There's so many supporting arguments for and against. Which side do we chose and can we really trust our politicians and scientists? Is this just another way to boost our economy through scaremongering based on apparent scientific facts? Hmm, so glad I'm not the PM right about now. 

Inspiration from around the globe...

As Winter sets in here in Sydney I sometimes like to take a little trip around the world and peak at what the northern hemi peeps are wearing. Here's a few of my faves today.


From Mila & Lea

From Bill and Mar

From Breadandbutter

Sex in India

It is a matter of bitter shame and sorrow and deep humiliation that a number of women have to sell their chastity for men’s lust. Man, the law giver, will have to pay a dreadful penalty for the degradation he has imposed upon the so-called weaker sex. When woman freed from man’s snares rises to the full height and rebels against man’s legislation and institution designed by him, her rebellion, no doubt, non-violent, will be nevertheless effective” - Mahatma Gandhi

Today I am writing an essay detailing the psychological effects sexual exploitation, slavery and trafficking have upon its victims, particularly in India. There a culture exists that does not recognise women as an intrinsic part of society, rather as mules for mans favour and pleasure. Of course there are always exceptions to this statement. I know Indian men who respect women and hold them in high regard. But as a general rule, India is a society that overlooks the basic needs, values and interests of its women. As a result, over 2 million women and children are trafficked into sexual exploitation.

Sunitha Krishnan is a remarkable Indian women combatting trafficking at both a micro and macro level, challenging the government and providing psychological and societal healing for victims. Her stories are told in a raw honesty rarely seen. When we talk of trafficking we often sweep over the issue, describing statistics and societal issues. Krishnan delicately portrays the horrific reality of sexual exploitation. I challenge you to watch this Ted Talk and find out more about her work. 

Sunitha Krishnan fights sex slavery | Video on TED.com

Bare-feet and Zumba

You know that feeling after you've just been shopping and spent to much? It's like a rock hitting the glass lake and sinking to the bottom. You know that you've broken something. The budget, your promise to stop using your credit card, your shoe rack when you add these new pumps. I had that feeling today. It wasn't crazy sale shopping where you buy 5 tops you're never going to wear just cause they're on sale. I bought runners (ew! First pair in about 5 years - but they're pink and Nike and my Zumba instructor wears them, so they must be cool) and wedding presents (times 2!)

On my way back to work, I walked through Hyde Park. The Red Cross clad clan guard the entrance, vying for my attention, which I did not have time to give. Head down, headphones in, no eye contact. My hands were full with my purchases, and my hat attempting to fly off my head, when a pair of bare feat caught my attention. A straggly man was sitting alone on a bench, gazing down. I recognised him. He comes into our outreach cafe some days. I smiled, said hello, and asked him how he was. He bore back a toothless grin and said alright. I bid him farewell, saying, "see you at the cafe sometime soon".

What I wish I could've done was give him my new shoes, returned the gifts, bought him a yummy Oporto burger, and made sure he was sleeping somewhere other then the bushes tonight. Unfortunately I just kept walking, straight back into my job where I raise money for the homeless people of Sydney. Could I live a more contradictory life?

I will forever straddle this line between consumer and giver. I will forever live a juxtaposed life, between being the hands of Jesus and being the feet of the accuser. I will lay down my coat as a sacrifice, only to pick up another, perhaps more expensive, at the cost of another's well being.

Maybe that rock needs to continue to sink. And when that glass surface reappears, more need to break it. Life is a process of brokenness. Of never becoming so satisfied and whole, that we are blind to the man with bare feet in the middle of winter. 

Thrift Me Up.

Could you go one week with only 7 pairs of undies in your suitcase? Jessie Arrington can, even as a speaker at TED. I don't know about you, but if I were heading to speak at TED I'd be shopping up big at The Corner Store in the Strand.

Perhaps it's time I took a page out of her book, or more appropriately, an undie out of her suitcase and began my sustainable experiment. Thrift shopping is tres-chic, but what if you haven't teamed that granny cardi from Glebe markets with your S&B jeans? Can we still pull these looks off?

Jessi Arrington: Wearing nothing new | Video on TED.com 

The new Civil Rights movement?

Is fighting for the rights of the GLBT community the new Civil Rights movement? We might not be insisting lesbians sit in the back section of the cafe, or gay men use a different entrance to the cinema here in Australia, but by refusing to allow a gay couple to appear on a billboard says a lot about the silent structural violence our society enforces on those who 'bat for the other team'. (That term never really made sense to me, shouldn't it be, 'bat for the same team'?) Structural violence is the violence that goes on behind the scenes. People might not be injured or killed by this violence, however it seeps deeper into their psyche and effects their emotional behaviour, both in society and within themselves.

If you're not up to date with the unfolding story of this ad, pop your head out of the rock and read it here.

I am a Christian, and want to state straight up; the views held by the Australian Christian Lobby Group and Wendy Francis are not the common views of Christians. Sure you get your fanatical religious nuts, who believe that speeding is a sin and writing X-mas is heretical, but most of my friends certainly don't see homosexuality as offensive or something we should hide from.

Most of the complaints about this ad where two men are featured in an act of 'foreplay' as Francis puts it, are centred around wanting to protect our communities. Apparently it 'encourages homosexuality' to children. Please.

 Sadly we're ignoring the rising statistic of HIV. According to Healthy Communities, 2010 had the highest number of people diagnosed with HIV than testing began in the 1980's. 65% of those diagnosed were gay men. But with all the ad campaigns going on around us, you'd be excused for thinking it's only teenagers and models who contract STD's. (And most of those ads are of people actually 'in the act'. Where's the lobby group against these ads?)

This is a beautiful ad showing two men who are clearly committed to each other, bravely advocating for the use of condom's and safe sex. It's sad we have a nation the cracks to homophobic pressure. 

Wine. Love.

Love wine a little too much? Yes? What's a girl to do?

Whether it's a vino blanco with friends at a fabulous wine bar on a Friday evening, or sipping a shiraz after a hard days work, curled up on the couch with a good book, there's no denying it. Wine is good. No, great.

And now we can even drink it, enjoying it's health benefits (red win = good heart) and feel ethical in the process...Ya! Wine Makers Choice offer organic wines at an equally delicious price. Click here to have a little squiz.

Road trips and Easter Eggs

I'm finishing off the week with a cup of chai and my chocolate Lint bunny from a colleague. 5 days off and the excitements in the air!

I'm looking forward to the long road trip with my girls, drinking coffee and screaming some Alanis. We'll go to the beach, visit markets, go to church on Easter Sunday and in between all of that I'll be writing my essay on sustainable peace-building and reconciliation. We'll eat chocolate eggs, and wear our pyjama's till midday. We'll discuss our fundraiser party coming up in two weeks, and the project we're working on in Northern Uganda. We might watch a movie, probably a chic flick and dream of travels.



My head swirls in paradox as I dream and plan. I'm working for a charity, doing my Masters in Peace and Conflict, going to church on Sunday. It seems good and altruistic. But what about the chocolate we'll eat? And the clothes we'll wear? Somewhere in India or the Ivory Coast a young girl is working 18 hours a day so we can have these 'necessities'.

It's a depressing thought, and one we shy away from. I harp on about fair trade and being sustainable, yet I just bought some winter necessities and I can guarantee it's not ethical.

So how do we do this? How do we live in a world where we consider our neighbour and justice comes through peace?

I wish I had the answers, but that's why I started this blog. Because I don't. None of us do, but we can walk the journey together and learn from each other. 1st world living is full of inequality and paradox's. It's who we are and our environment.

On a weekend where we celebrate the grace and freedom of what Easter means, is we can eat Fair Trade chocolate, providing those who have never tasted what they pick, a brighter future.

Yoganics

What do you get when you add Yoga and Organic Bamboo?

Yoganics.



My new clothing obsession!!

I actually hate spending money on gym clothes (my runners will testify to that), because I'm going to be hot and sweaty in them any way, I don't really see the point in looking good. But Yoganics are the game changer! Not only do I actually look forward to wear my leggings, but I can wear them guilt free, knowing the material is organic and made from Bamboo, not cotton!

I've asked the designers of Yoganics to comment on the manufacturing and origin of the bamboo to make sure it's been an ethical process from go-to-wo. I haven't heard back yet, so if you purchase a bamboo cami or bike-shorts, drop them an email asking.

Alright, I'm off for some sun-salutations.

Namaste. 

Creating Hope at your Dinner Table!

What are your plans for catching up with your friends in May? I bet they consist of dinner somewhere, maybe a few glasses of wine…probably setting you back about $40? What if you still had dinner with your friends, but that $40 you’d normally spend went to the fight against homelessness? Well, HopeMonth can help you!

HopeMonth is where individuals like you and I can host our own fundraisers in support of our fellow Aussies roughing it on the streets this winter. All the money raised goes to HopeStreet – Urban Compassion, a grassroots organisation working to address homelessness in Sydney through programs aimed at offering a hand up, not just a hand out.  Australians aren’t immune to homelessness with the most staggering statistic suggesting that the average Australian is only 2 weeks away from homelessness if they lose their income. Almost one in a hundred of us did experience a spell of it during the last year. Anyone is at risk of homelessness.

HopeMonth is a practical way you can help end homelessness and still do what you love doing! So still have that dinner with your friends, just host it at your place! When you register your meal at www.hopemonth.com and invite your friends, you specify how much you want them to donate in order to book at seat at your table! It’s that simple.

What better occasion than to clear off that dining table and put the skills you learnt from Master Chef to the test! (Don’t worry if you can’t cook, I’m sure your friends will still love you if you serve them char-grilled sourdough).

Revolution ~ Where's the LOVE

The images never cease. My twitter feeds me a constant stream of tweetpics,  which are now opened with more care. Photo's taken in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya. The closest we can get to the conflict, and possibly the most personal. Images of people with limbs blown off. The ground strewn with dismembered body parts. Buildings destroyed. Families huddled together in prayer.

Revolutions arise out of the desire for the world to be contrary to it's current state. A belief in a perfect or better society. Freedom from the current overhead oppression.

Les Miserables is a story about this desire for societal change. For equality. The common man's belief in justice. It deals with themes of grace, love and reconciliation, however they appear remain peripheral to the central theme of justice and freedom. In the end, at what cost was justice achieved?

I dare you; find a revolution that achieved what it desired with out bloodshed and fear. A revolution that became all it promised it would, without marginalising community groups or afflicting religions or race.

We Can Change the World by Changing Our Clothes

The problem: Environmentally and ethically, making one T-shirt is not only killing our planet and but also using child labour.

Change your clothes. Change your world. from sustainU on Vimeo.

The Solution: Wearing ethical clothing. Material made from Bamboo, or ethically proven. And making sure we know where the garment is being produced.

Social networking ruining your day?

The alarm goes off, and after pressing snooze more times than I promise myself the night before, I pry my eyes open to read what happened in the world over night. Queue Twitter and Facebook. The endless stream of nonsensical jargon and new highlights update me on the last 8 hours in world history.

Throughout the day in between meetings and writing reports, I'll flick to the pages of Twitter and FB, lest I miss a pivotal moment. Currently we are all glued to news from Libya and Christchurch, with the occasional tweet from Parliament and Perez Hilton. I'm finding it hard today to think of much else after seeing images so horrific I will think twice before opening another Twit Pic hash-tagged Libya. When such tragedy and suffer is unfolding around our globe, and we are privy to specs of information, it seems heartless to tweet about a funny video found on Youtube, or the great salad I made for lunch.

Is social networking controlling the way you live your life? Does reading the news headlines make you feel like slightly guilty for enjoying your life when others are suffering so harshly?

Castaway Kids - ABC

How bad must a detention centre be when an Afghan asylum seeker who escaped Afghanistan with her family for fear of their lives, says she doesn't want to remember her time there?

Human nature seems to rear it's ugly head when the topic of asylum seekers is approached. Australians are protective of their land and resources. We want to keep our lucky country secure from foreign enemies, quarantined from foreign diseases and a utopia for those born into it, or able to jump through the necessary hoops.

It is a fact, that we need to be mindful our resources will run low, and we don't have the means to sustain our growing nation. But it is also a fact that in places like Afghanistan, desperate people are risking their lives to escape.

Imagine if it was us. If we had corrupt governments, if we had to hide in black painted windows and prayer our father/husband/brother, would make it home alive each day. If we heard of a country flowing with fresh water and freedom, and the only way to get there was to spend all the money we had, risk our lives, and leave behind our friends and family. The desperation of these moments is humbling.

Najeeba says many Australian kids call them 'Queue jumpers', but she explains that they did not come to Australia to see something new, but because of peace. Now 22, she is believes she would have been dead at the age of 12.

The Cast Away kids reveals the humanity behind the topic of Asylum Seekers in Australia.

Julia Gillard says "Australia's basic decency does not accept the idea of punishing women and children by locking them up behind razor wire". If it doesn't accept it, then why do we still have over 1, 000 children locked up in detention centres?

Watch Najeeba's story.

"The first smile I got from an Australian person, she said you guys seem lost. She taught me how to smile. She taught me that everyone's not the same based on what I had suffered in the detention centre".


Do we base our solution on humanitarian equality or sustainability for our nation?

"We don't fear death anymore, let the army come and kill us to show the world what kind of savages they are," said Umm Mohammed, a teacher wearing a black abaya cloak in Bahrain. 


This kind of courage amazes me. It is the courage we saw rise up to overthrow Mubarak recently. Freedom is obviously a contagious desire because right across the Arab world there is unrest. A call for change. 


Shiite protesters in Bahrainis, took to the streets on Monday, to fight discrimination felt at the hand of a Sunni Muslim dynasty. Also a close ally to the US and Saudi. The Shiites feel neglected from decision-making and experience unfair treatment to access jobs and housing. 


In the Libyan city of Benghazi, Human Rights Watch say 84 people have been killed in three days of security crackdown, a response to anti-government protests. 


In Iraq, a violent rally demanded officials to combat graft and improve basic services. Two people have been killed.


Kuwait protesters are calling for basic rights and citizenship.


To read more go here. 

Southern Sudan - Africa's Newest Country

In December I wrote about Sudan's Referendum. Voting has now taken place, and the voice of the Southerners is unaminous. They want freedom from the North.

It is an exciting day for the people in this region. For 20 years they have lived in oppression and fear from the North.

Go here to read more about the results and the way forward. 

Fashion. To. Aid.

Recently, I have made a discovery of Ebay. It's amazing for a girl on a budget. Without sounding spam mail, I started getting my make up for a fraction of the price. Seriously. Amazing.

By Ebay has a Hot Heart too. Fashion. To. Aid. All proceeds are going to flood relief. There's nothing I love more than shopping for a cause.

Corrective Rape

Millicent Gaika was bound, strangled, tortured and raped for five hours by a man who crowed that he was ‘curing’ her of her lesbianism.

She barely survived, but she is not alone -- this vicious crime is recurrent in South Africa, where lesbians live in terror of attack. But no one has ever been convicted of 'corrective rape'.

Amazingly, from a tiny Cape Town safehouse a few brave activists are risking their lives to ensure that Millicent’s case sparks change. Their appeal to the Minister of Justice has exploded to over 140,000 signatures, forcing him to respond on national television. But the Minister has not yet answered their demands for action.

Let's shine a light on this horror from all corners of the world -- if enough of us join in to amplify and escalate this campaign, we can reach President Zuma, who is ultimately responsible to uphold constitutional rights. Let’s call on Zuma and the Minister of Justice to publicly condemn ‘corrective rape’, criminalise hate crimes, and ensure immediate enforcement, public education and protection for survivors.Sign the petition now and share it with everyone -- we’ll deliver it to the South African government with our partners in Cape Town:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_corrective_rape/?vl

South Africa, often called the Rainbow Nation, is revered globally for its post-apartheid efforts to protect against discrimination. It was the first country to constitutionally protect citizens from discrimination based on sexuality. But in Cape Town alone, the local organization Luleki Sizwe has recorded more than one 'corrective rape' per day, and impunity reigns.

'Corrective rape' is based on the outrageous and utterly false notion that a lesbian woman can be raped to 'make her straight', but this heinous act is not even classified as a hate crime in South Africa. The victims are often black, poor, lesbian women, and profoundly marginalised. But even the 2008 gang rape and murder of Eudy Simelane, the national hero and former star of the South Africa women's national football team, did not turn the tide. And just last week Minister Radebe insisted that motive is irrelevant in crimes like 'corrective rape.'

South Africa is the rape capital of the world. A South African girl born today is more likely to be raped than she is to learn to read. Astoundingly, one quarter of South African girls are raped before turning 16. This has many roots: masculine entitlement (62 per cent of boys over 11 believe that forcing someone to have sex is not an act of violence), poverty, crammed settlements, unemployed and disenfranchised men, community acceptance -- and, for the few cases that are courageously reported to authorities, a dismal police response and lax sentencing.

This is a human catastrophe. But Luleki Sizwe and partners at Change.org have opened a small window of hope in the fight against it. If the whole world weighs in now, we could get justice for Millicent and national action to end 'corrective rape':

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_corrective_rape/?vl

This is ultimately a battle with poverty, patriarchy, and homophobia. Ending the tide of rape will require bold leadership and concerted action to spearhead transformative change in South Africa and across the continent. President Zuma is a a Zulu traditionalist, who has himself stood trial for rape. But he condemned the arrest of a gay couple in Malawi last year, and, after massive national and international civic pressure, South Africa finally approved a UN resolution opposing extra-judicial killing in relation to sexual orientation.

If enough of us join this global call for action, we could push Zuma to speak out, drive much-needed government action, and begin a national conversation that could fundamentally shift public attitudes toward rape and homophobia in South Africa. Sign on now and spread the word:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_corrective_rape/?vl

A case like Millicent’s makes it easy to lose hope. But when citizens come together with one voice, we can succeed in shifting fundamentally unjust, but deeply ingrained practices and norms. Last year, in Uganda, we succeeded in building such a massive wave of public pressure that the government was forced to shelve legislation that would have sentenced gay Ugandans to death. And it was global pressure in support of bold national activists that pushed South African leaders to address the AIDS crisis that was engulfing their country. Let’s join together now and speak out for a world where each and every human being can live without fear of abuse. 

With hope and determination,

Alice, Ricken, Maria Paz, David and the rest of the Avaaz team

SOURCES:

Blog of Luleki Sizwe, South African organization leading the call to their government to stop 'corrective rape', and provides support to victims
http://lulekisizwe.wordpress.com

Minister of Justice Radebe’s nationally televised interview (South African Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkx-PYqHM0U

Protest against ‘corrective rape’ (The Sowetan)
http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/01/06/protest-against-corrective-rape

Petition launched on Change.org by activists from Luleki Sizwe
http://humanrights.change.org/petitions/view/south_africa_declare_corrective_rape_a_hate-crime

"South Africa's shame: the rise of child rape" (The Independent)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/south-africas-shame-the-rise-of-child-rape-1974578.html

"Exploring homophobic victimisation in Gauteng, South Africa: issues, impacts, and responses" (Centre for Applied Psychology, University of South Africa)
http://www.avaaz.org/out_ucap_gauteng_study

"We have a major problem in South Africa" (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/18/south-africa-murder-rape

"South Africa: Rape Facts" (Channel 4)
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/south-africa-rape-facts

"Understanding men’s health and use of violence: interface of rape and HIV in South Africa" (Medical Research Council)
http://gender.care2share.wikispaces.net/file/view/MRC+SA+men+and+rape+ex+summary+june2009.pdf

"Preventing Rape and Violence in South Africa" (Medical Research Council)
http://www.mrc.ac.za/gender/prev_rapedd041209.pdf


Support the Avaaz community! We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way --donate here.

Floods and spare change

There's nothing much to say on the state of QLD, Victoria and NSW in terms of the flood crisis. And I really don't feel I should say anything. I have been relatively unaffected, and have watched from the comfort of my couch, or listened to reports whilst stuck in traffic.

It is a tragedy. And every house, business, car, and life lost represents so much more than the images and videos we are hearing. I feel like Australia has been shot off into some alternative universe right now.

But I do want to share a story that has come out of the community in which I work. This is an exert from news.com about HopeStreet. This is truly what society is about. Empower those who are disadvantaged, and in return, they will give their hand, and what ever is in it to those in need.

AUSTRALIANS from all walks of life - including those who barely have anything - are digging deep to help the Queensland flood victims.

Homeless people in Sydney on Wednesday gave the last of their change to the cause at a charity BBQ.

The BackShed Cafe, in Woolloomooloo, put on a sausage sizzle to feed about 50 to 60 homeless people from the area, local resident Carole Ann King told news.com.au.

But instead of receiving charity, the homeless combined their last coins to come up with a total donation of $100.75 for victims of the Queensland floods.

"It was just so moving," Ms King said. "Here you have homeless people and so many five cent coins in the bucket.

"Naturally you feed the homeless for nothing. You don't expect anything, but they just emptied their pockets out.

"It's the true Aussie spirit."

To read more go here.