Monday, February 25, 2013

The Tigers Come at Night


            It is always exciting to see a movie that contains a meaningful story receive a lot of attention during awards season.  This year, Les Miserable has been nominated for several awards, including Best Picture nominee for an Academy Award and won the Golden Globe for Best Picture.  I was thrilled that this Hollywood version of a great piece of literature was true to the spirit of its story of redemption and grace.

lesmishathaway_620_112612            I was particularly moved, this time more than any other, by the story of Fantine, played by Anne Hathaway.  She was a young beautiful girl who found herself in an unfortunate and tragic situation.  She was in love and had a baby with a man who abandoned her.  She lost her job that was supporting her child, Cosette, and was thrown out on the street.  She was forced to sell her beautiful locks of hair, her teeth and finally her body in efforts to keep supporting her little Cosette.  She was trapped in a life of prostitution and misery that led to her death.
            As I sat in the movie theater, tearful over the story of Fantine, I thought of how this story is not just one of fiction.  It is a gross reality that today millions of men, women and children are currently trapped in slavery.  A reality that is difficult to comprehend in our modern day.  According to UNICEF, each year nearly 2 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade.  In the film, Fantine sings that famous song, “I dreamed a dream, when hope was high and life worth living…. But the tigers come at night…. As they tear your hope apart, as they turn your dream to shame.”  The tigers she sings of are still present today…those who prowl around seeking out those to abuse, oppress, and exploit.  They steal childhoods.  They rip families apart. They turn hope into horror.
            Fortunately, in Les Miserable, the story doesn’t end with the death of Fantine and Cosette abandoned as an orphan.  It continues with ex-con Jean Valjean rescuing Cosette, because of his vow to Fantine, and raises her as his own.  Jean Valjean, because of the grace he was offered and received as a desperate young man, responded with a life full of grace and mercy.  His response to the miserable world he was in is compelling even in modern times as we face evils like modern day slavery.
            As I sat in my comfy theater recliner I wondered, “What is my response?” What am I to do with the guilt I feel with the knowledge of other’s sufferings especially in stark contrast to my own comfort?  Although I am unable to imagine the misery of those trapped in slavery, I have traveled enough around the world to have my own images of poverty and disease. I am tempted to live oblivious to this suffering I know of and it takes a conscious effort to think beyond my own world.
            I am thankful that there are amazing organizations to support, such as International Justice Mission who are working to eradicate such evil.  IJM’s mandate is to confront violence that robs people of their dignity, freedom, health and security.  Those who work for IJM are true heroes who have committed themselves to save the lives of others.
            Bill Nicholson, screenwriter for “Les Miserables” said “I am here to tell you we write a story and that’s important because stories matter. Why? Because stories form our culture…Every time we write a story we are in fact creating a moral structure and that moral structure is influencing the people who see that film…. And they add up, all these films, to a sense of what is acceptable in life and what is not. So we have an enormous power, particularly the movies that are widely seen. You may think if they’re pure entertainment there is no moral message in it, but that is not true.”  Les Miserable may or may not be awarded tonight for best picture at the Academy Awards, but far more important than an award is how this story and message of slavery, redemption, and hope…will affect our culture and own lives.
“Here’s hoping someday in the not-too-distant future the misfortunes of Fantine will be only found in fiction and not in real life.”
Anne Hathaway, acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Awards 2013

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Raise Your Hand: Renewing our Commitment to Children Affected by Conflict


An excerpt from my recent interview with World Vision’s Women of Vision

For the full article/interview click HERE
This entry was posted on February 12, 2013 by  atWomen of Vision
Mugunga Displacement Camp
Nyaranzo (not her real name) looks up to the sky as the sound of gunfire and explosions echo from the horizon. No one needs to tell her what it is. The sound is familiar, it’s the reason she’s on the run, hungry and lonely. Eight-years-old Nyaranzo is among thousands of internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo who are homeless because of fighting between government troops and a rebel group. At night, she sleeps in a dusty classroom and during the day her home is a playground. She has no family here – possibly lost as they ran for their lives. The sounds of the explosions bring a lull to those around her. “Maybe my mum is still coming,” she says, her deep sadness and hunger shows in her eyes as she looks up to the sky.
For children around the world, like Nyaranzo, violence and conflict can cause displacement, family separation, hunger, and lack of access to clean water, education, and health care. Because of these things it can also put them at risk for abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence. Displacement and disruption of normal patterns of life weakens the protective environment around children and places them at greater risk for trafficking, neglect, exploitative work, and recruitment into armed forces.
As advocates around the world observe Child Soldier Awareness Day (also known as Red Hand Day) today by asking countries to make a commitment to protecting children affected by conflict, ask our elected leaders to renew our commitment…. So what can you do? Does your action really make a difference? Yes! I had a chance to ask Sarah Sagely Klotz, a former foreign policy Congressional staffer, about her time working to protect children who have been recruited or kidnapped into armed forces.  I asked her what helps legislation move forward and the role advocates can have.
If you want to push something through Congress, you can’t expect it to happen overnight.  It is a long tedious process that could take a few years so you should have the long-term perspective in mind. Advocates play a vital role in not only giving wind to efforts to get something introduced or through Congress, but acting as a resource to Congress.  Advocates not only give passion, but can give a depth of insight and knowledge about certain issues. Members of Congress and their staff are juggling several issues at one time and it is invaluable to have a trusted resource to be able to call and ask for help, insight, and experience.  Once you begin that sort of relationship, when you come back to that Member or staffer for a request, you will certainly have their ear.