As I told earlier I was jurymember of the Prague Filmfestival in 2006 judging the best film in the category named 'Right to Know'. The documentaries selected for this category refer to human rights violations all over the world.
When you think of Chechnya, what comes to mind? Chechen terrorists, often women, committing suicide bombings? Like the attacks yesterday in the Moscow metro? The actions of the rebels make it difficult for many people to view the Chechen conflict with sympathy for the Chechen side.
I recommend you to see the film Coca: the Dove from Chechnya
The film is about fifty–year–old Zainap (nickname Coca, which means 'dove')belonging to an organisation called 'The War Echo'. She divides her time between documenting the situation in Chechnya and in the refugee camps of Ingussetia, transporting photographs and recordings to Germany and Russia and lobbying for the rights of the Chechen people throughout Europe. Using this documentation, they are trying to help assist Chechen civilians with cases brought before the International Human Rights Court in Strassbourg. She tries to do everything she can for her country and prove to the world that Chechen terrorism is the desperate reaction of a small group of people, not the pastime of an entire nation.
The film is being shown as a part of the traveling Amnesty International Film Festival, aims to show the world a different side of the bloody and violent conflict, through the lens of another kind of weapon - the video cameras of a group of Chechen women.
This is not a slick, well-produced Hollywood film. Much of the footage is grainy, shaky, and difficult to watch.
Chechen activist Zainap Gashaeva is well-known in the international community for her tireless campaign to draw attention to the suffering of the Chechen people at the hands of the Russian government.
About Rudolf Vrba:
Rudolf Vrba, escapee from Auschwitz provided the first eye witness documents about the concentrationcamps. To pay honors to this exceptionally brave man, One World Festival presents annually Rudolf Vrba Award.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Yes, he can!
Dear readers, please let me share this press release about a wonderboy:
13 Year-Old UNICEF Ambassador Bilaal Rajan Challenges World Youth To Help Haiti
Toronto, Canada – Bilaal Rajan, the grade nine student at Lakefield College School, UNICEF Canada Ambassador, youth activist, best-selling author and fundraiser, has issued a challenge to students all over the world to raise a minimum of $100 for the relief efforts in Haiti.
“Hundreds of thousands have died, and millions are without shelter, food, running water or medical attention. Young people have to get involved and help,” says Rajan, the fundraising wunderkind who has raised millions of dollars for programs that help children in need all over the world. “I think the potential students have for raising millions of dollars throughout the globe is overwhelming.”
Barely a teenager, the Toronto-based children’s activist is already a force to be reckoned with. An accomplished writer, Rajan’s book, Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever (160 pages, Orca Book Publishers), shows people how they can take charge and make a difference in their communities, no matter what their age.
Rajan is adding an extra incentive for students to raise money. He will shave his head in honour of the school or student in Canada that raises the greatest amount of funds. “I’m looking forward to see what kinds of fundraising ideas young people come up with and how much money they can raise. Am I looking forward to going bald? Not so much. I hope the students are gentle,” he laughs. In addition, Lakefield College School Headmaster David Thompson has agreed to shave his head as well if his students raise $35,000.
At 4, Rajan began his fundraising success by selling clementine oranges door-to-door raising money for victims of the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, India. At 7, he founded Making Change Now, an organization dedicated to heightening awareness of youth issues and raising funds for children in the developing world. In March 2005, he was chosen as an official Child Representative and Ambassador for UNICEF Canada.
In 2004, Rajan launched his first UNICEF fundraising challenge, at the age of eight, called the UNICEF Canada Kids Earthquake Challenge, through which Canadian children raised more than $1.8 million to help those who were impacted by the earthquake and tsunami of south Asia. Canada’s youth contributed again in May 2008 to those affected by the Myanmar cyclone through Rajan’s Me and You for the Children of Myanmar UNICEF fundraising campaign.
All the proceeds raised by Rajan’s Help Haiti Challenge will go to UNICEF and the organization’s relief efforts in Haiti. “The challenges of the Haitian people won’t go away overnight,” he says. “But I know that students throughout the world will step up to the plate and make every effort to help those who are suffering in the country.”
13 Year-Old UNICEF Ambassador Bilaal Rajan Challenges World Youth To Help Haiti
Toronto, Canada – Bilaal Rajan, the grade nine student at Lakefield College School, UNICEF Canada Ambassador, youth activist, best-selling author and fundraiser, has issued a challenge to students all over the world to raise a minimum of $100 for the relief efforts in Haiti.
“Hundreds of thousands have died, and millions are without shelter, food, running water or medical attention. Young people have to get involved and help,” says Rajan, the fundraising wunderkind who has raised millions of dollars for programs that help children in need all over the world. “I think the potential students have for raising millions of dollars throughout the globe is overwhelming.”
Barely a teenager, the Toronto-based children’s activist is already a force to be reckoned with. An accomplished writer, Rajan’s book, Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever (160 pages, Orca Book Publishers), shows people how they can take charge and make a difference in their communities, no matter what their age.
Rajan is adding an extra incentive for students to raise money. He will shave his head in honour of the school or student in Canada that raises the greatest amount of funds. “I’m looking forward to see what kinds of fundraising ideas young people come up with and how much money they can raise. Am I looking forward to going bald? Not so much. I hope the students are gentle,” he laughs. In addition, Lakefield College School Headmaster David Thompson has agreed to shave his head as well if his students raise $35,000.
At 4, Rajan began his fundraising success by selling clementine oranges door-to-door raising money for victims of the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, India. At 7, he founded Making Change Now, an organization dedicated to heightening awareness of youth issues and raising funds for children in the developing world. In March 2005, he was chosen as an official Child Representative and Ambassador for UNICEF Canada.
In 2004, Rajan launched his first UNICEF fundraising challenge, at the age of eight, called the UNICEF Canada Kids Earthquake Challenge, through which Canadian children raised more than $1.8 million to help those who were impacted by the earthquake and tsunami of south Asia. Canada’s youth contributed again in May 2008 to those affected by the Myanmar cyclone through Rajan’s Me and You for the Children of Myanmar UNICEF fundraising campaign.
All the proceeds raised by Rajan’s Help Haiti Challenge will go to UNICEF and the organization’s relief efforts in Haiti. “The challenges of the Haitian people won’t go away overnight,” he says. “But I know that students throughout the world will step up to the plate and make every effort to help those who are suffering in the country.”
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Female Factor
You might like this following story, it's really fascinating (which doesn't only apply to Eastern German women).
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/world/europe/18iht-women.html?em
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/world/europe/18iht-women.html?em
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Belfast
With a private chartered plane (Fokker 50) fifty Dutch representatives took off to Belfast. As we were all not afraid to be dropped off like packages in the North Sea (you'll never know!) we headed to our three day conference in Belfast in Northern Ireland. I dont know about the others but I was full of expectations of this country with an enormous political and religious history, the country where one of my most favorite bands, Clannad, comes from and of course the beautiful landscapes and not to forget the Irish whisky.
The organiser of the conference, The British Council, had done a good job. 50 Dutch and 50 English executives from multinationals like Shell, BP, Akzonobel, TNT and Marsh, professors, politicians, headhunters and journalists gathered to talk about Trust, Social Cohesion and the State of the country in an economic downturn.
What I felt already in the plane was the energy of the group. There was a 'positive vibe'. Everybody wanted to share his or her ideas with the one sitting next to him or her. Of course everybody had his own interests to come to the conference but I could also sense that we went to Belfast with an open sight. We were ready to exchange points of view and learn from each other.
It was one of the best conferences I attended. Not because of the outcome (we did come up with exact ideas on how to bring real improvements on our lives, and we tried to come up with ideas how to forecome the risk that our societies become increasingly closed and self-interested) or the new people I met, but because I learned so much about Northern Ireland and it's dramatic history.
As soon as we landed on Irish soil, we were picked up by the bus, not to go to our hotel and check in comfortably, but to go to one of the most famous warzones in the world. We were on a walking excursion of Belfast's conflict and reconciliation landmarks which were guided by members of Epic (UVF/Red Hand Commando ex-prisoners) and Coiste (IRA ex-prisoners).
It was so surprising to hear both sides of the story. Eventhough both of the guides assured us that they would tell their story honestly and objectively, which you could tell of course was not the case. The IRA ex-prisoner had been in jail for fourteen years and he could tell his story so vividly that sometimes I thought that he used this job for therapeutic reasons. The royalist ex-prisoner had been in prison for sixteen years and tried to tell his side of the story more objectively.
I think the whole group will agree with me: there was still so much pain and anger in these men and in these streets. Suddenly all the images I had seen on television, as a child, revived. They made me sick and sad. I saw the bombs and fire and innocent people fleeing from their houses. And last Sunday I saw on every corner of the street plaquets on the doors of the houses in memory of the victims. I tried to relate to people in Northern Ireland who lost loved ones, about the madness, the pain, the sadness and the emptiness.
A lot of Europeans (and the rest of the world) probably don't know that the wall is still there. I am curious when this wall will ever be removed. Reports tell us that trust and social cohesion in Northern Ireland are now stronger than they have been for a long time. But we felt something else. While we were walking there an Irish man made the comment that the wall was not high enough. And that is exactly what we felt too: that it only needs just one argument, one point of discussion to start a whole new war. For us, the Irish conflict is already history, but for the people in Belfast still so fresh.
The troubles in Northern Ireland started fourty years ago and probably it will take double the amount of time to heal the pain.
The organiser of the conference, The British Council, had done a good job. 50 Dutch and 50 English executives from multinationals like Shell, BP, Akzonobel, TNT and Marsh, professors, politicians, headhunters and journalists gathered to talk about Trust, Social Cohesion and the State of the country in an economic downturn.
What I felt already in the plane was the energy of the group. There was a 'positive vibe'. Everybody wanted to share his or her ideas with the one sitting next to him or her. Of course everybody had his own interests to come to the conference but I could also sense that we went to Belfast with an open sight. We were ready to exchange points of view and learn from each other.
It was one of the best conferences I attended. Not because of the outcome (we did come up with exact ideas on how to bring real improvements on our lives, and we tried to come up with ideas how to forecome the risk that our societies become increasingly closed and self-interested) or the new people I met, but because I learned so much about Northern Ireland and it's dramatic history.
As soon as we landed on Irish soil, we were picked up by the bus, not to go to our hotel and check in comfortably, but to go to one of the most famous warzones in the world. We were on a walking excursion of Belfast's conflict and reconciliation landmarks which were guided by members of Epic (UVF/Red Hand Commando ex-prisoners) and Coiste (IRA ex-prisoners).
It was so surprising to hear both sides of the story. Eventhough both of the guides assured us that they would tell their story honestly and objectively, which you could tell of course was not the case. The IRA ex-prisoner had been in jail for fourteen years and he could tell his story so vividly that sometimes I thought that he used this job for therapeutic reasons. The royalist ex-prisoner had been in prison for sixteen years and tried to tell his side of the story more objectively.
I think the whole group will agree with me: there was still so much pain and anger in these men and in these streets. Suddenly all the images I had seen on television, as a child, revived. They made me sick and sad. I saw the bombs and fire and innocent people fleeing from their houses. And last Sunday I saw on every corner of the street plaquets on the doors of the houses in memory of the victims. I tried to relate to people in Northern Ireland who lost loved ones, about the madness, the pain, the sadness and the emptiness.
A lot of Europeans (and the rest of the world) probably don't know that the wall is still there. I am curious when this wall will ever be removed. Reports tell us that trust and social cohesion in Northern Ireland are now stronger than they have been for a long time. But we felt something else. While we were walking there an Irish man made the comment that the wall was not high enough. And that is exactly what we felt too: that it only needs just one argument, one point of discussion to start a whole new war. For us, the Irish conflict is already history, but for the people in Belfast still so fresh.
The troubles in Northern Ireland started fourty years ago and probably it will take double the amount of time to heal the pain.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Businessbabes
I don't know about you but I LOVE lists! TOP 500 richest people in the world, top 100 most sexy men or Top 50 most powerful women in the world. In the summer of 2006 for my magazine SEN I made my first Top-list. It was the top 10 of most powerful muslimwomen. Everybody was surprised about that. Not only because of the idea of such a list (why not?) but also because a lot of people didn't expect to put muslim women in that order and in such context. It was a surprising article. Last weekend The Financial Times came up with a women issue AND of course a list: The top women in world business. Surprising results for European women: only 15 women are from, what we call, the most emancipated continent in the world. Well, that doesn't count for this list. The only Dutch name I could see was of Wolters Kluwer, the media company led by an American (and not Dutch!) woman Nancy McKinstry. So, no Dutch names on this list. To me, as a Turkish girl, it was very nice to read that the fifth businessbabe was a Turkish woman, Guler Sabanci.She was also on my list in 2006 and it's nice to know that Turkish businesspower is in the hands of a woman. It shouldn't be a surprise, as the article is written by an American magazine, that the list counted 16 American chief executives. The rest of the Financial Times's ranking of the world's 50 most powerful and succesful businessgirls consisted of..of course you already guessed: Chinese, Indian and Singaporese women.
The article explains how the rankings were judged and I assume that the writer did profound research. For European women, and especially the Dutch, who still prefer working parttime, this should be the main evidence that as long as men rule business and politics, we as women have no power at all. The key solution remains that we should work more and harder to get key-positions. Probably (and most likely) my message will not be heard, as it is the case for decades. Just like other feminists have been doing half a century, I will still be talking to 'dovemansoren'.(translation in English: 'deafman's ears').
The article explains how the rankings were judged and I assume that the writer did profound research. For European women, and especially the Dutch, who still prefer working parttime, this should be the main evidence that as long as men rule business and politics, we as women have no power at all. The key solution remains that we should work more and harder to get key-positions. Probably (and most likely) my message will not be heard, as it is the case for decades. Just like other feminists have been doing half a century, I will still be talking to 'dovemansoren'.(translation in English: 'deafman's ears').
Friday, September 11, 2009
Fair play
I hoped that I would never write about this topic again, but since it's hot topic, I can't stay behind and watch it all coming over me..It's all about this piece of cotton..
Yes, since two weeks the headscarf-issue is back in Europe again. It started with the demonstration of Belgian women who were against the ban of the headscarf at their University. But unlucky for them, The Belgian newspaper De Standaard writes today that the General Council for Schools has forbidden the headscarf.
And because Holland is not really far away from Belgium (we call Belgium sometimes our backyard), since a week we have the same debates and discussions. The chair of the left green party Groen Links, Femke Halsema, said in an interview, that even though she is a liberal socialist and stands for freedom of religion, she wished that fewer women would wear the veil.
Hundreds of Dutch people reacted on this interview and one of them is Mrs. Bennema. She is furious about what the left politician Halsema had said. How on earth could she think that muslim women who wear headscarfs are suppressed and wear this veil unvoluntarily. Out of solidarity she suggested in the online version of the daily newspaper Trouw that we would all wear the veil for a day.
Well, my reaction is:
I sure believe that a lot of women wear their headscarves because it's their own choice. And I want to show that I respect them. So, I am ready to wear a veil for one day but only if they want to take off their veil, also for a day. Just out of solidarity. Fair play, not?
Yes, since two weeks the headscarf-issue is back in Europe again. It started with the demonstration of Belgian women who were against the ban of the headscarf at their University. But unlucky for them, The Belgian newspaper De Standaard writes today that the General Council for Schools has forbidden the headscarf.
And because Holland is not really far away from Belgium (we call Belgium sometimes our backyard), since a week we have the same debates and discussions. The chair of the left green party Groen Links, Femke Halsema, said in an interview, that even though she is a liberal socialist and stands for freedom of religion, she wished that fewer women would wear the veil.
Hundreds of Dutch people reacted on this interview and one of them is Mrs. Bennema. She is furious about what the left politician Halsema had said. How on earth could she think that muslim women who wear headscarfs are suppressed and wear this veil unvoluntarily. Out of solidarity she suggested in the online version of the daily newspaper Trouw that we would all wear the veil for a day.
Well, my reaction is:
I sure believe that a lot of women wear their headscarves because it's their own choice. And I want to show that I respect them. So, I am ready to wear a veil for one day but only if they want to take off their veil, also for a day. Just out of solidarity. Fair play, not?
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