Tag: collective agency

Muttertag – und was dahinter steckt

Erhebt euch, alle Frauen die Herzen haben, egal ob ihr mit Wasser oder mit Tränen getauft seid! Sagt deutlich: Wir werden die grossen Fragen nicht durch irrelevante Gremien entschieden haben. (J. W. Howe, 1870)

Another Mother's Day in the name of peace (photo credit: AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Ein weiterer Muttertag für eine friedlichere Welt (photo credit: AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Vergesst die Blumen, die Pralinen, die überteuerten Karten mit aufgedruckten Standartfloskeln. Die oft übersehenen oder nicht ernst genommenen Anliegen und Beiträge der Mütter in aller Welt sind von höchster politischer und sozialer Relevanz. 

Der folgende Appell ist eine der Grundlagen für einen offiziellen Feiertag zur Ehren der Mutter: Darin geht es nicht um romantisierende Vorstellungen oder um eine Vermarktung im Namen des uneingeschränkten Profites! Die Dringlichkeit, die Mütter als Bewahrerinnen des Friedens an zu erkennen und ihnen dazu eine Stimme zu verleihen, hat seither nicht abgenommen. 

APPELL AN DIE FRAUEN IN ALLER WELT. Continue reading “Muttertag – und was dahinter steckt” →

Mother’s Day – remembering the original intention

Arise, all women who have hearts whether your baptism be that of water or of tears! Say firmly: We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. (J.W. Howe, 1870)

Another Mother's Day in the name of peace (photo credit: AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Another Mother’s Day in the name of peace (photo credit: AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Forget the flowers, the chocolates, the overpriced cards with a printed, standard nicety on it. Mothers’ concerns and contributions are of highest political and social importance.

The following appeal is one of the roots of Mother’s Day as a celebrated holiday: No romantic notion and definitely no commercialization in the name of greedy profit! The urgency to recognize mothers as peace keepers of the world and to give them a voice as such has not diminished since then.

APPEAL TO WOMANHOOD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. Continue reading “Mother’s Day – remembering the original intention” →

Was macht Macht mit mir? (+EN)

Macht ist die Fähigkeit Einfluss zu nehmen im Leben. Das kann sich sowohl auf das eigene wie auch auf andere Leben beziehen. Wenn ich im eigenen Leben keine Macht habe, dann kann ich mich sehr schnell ohnmächtig fühlen. Das Ohnmachtsgefühl kann natürlich auch daher kommen, dass ich mir nicht bewusst bin, dass ich auf mein Leben Einfluss nehmen könnte.

MouseTrap2

Lange Zeit wurden Menschen durch autoritäre Figuren und Systeme konsequent in einer abhängigen Beziehung gehalten. Macht wurde schonungslos ausgeübt. Die Machthaber haben das gemeine Volk bewusst im Unwissen gelassen. So auch die Kirchen. Sie haben Gott als den Allmächtigen definiert, was dem Menschen nicht viel Einfluss auf das eigene Leben oder das Leben der Gemeinschaft lässt.

Stellt euch vor, Gott wäre als Alles-Liebende verstanden worden… Continue reading “Was macht Macht mit mir? (+EN)” →

Hope on the horizon – the movie (+de)

Hope on the horizon: The short experimental film Healing in Babalmé has been officially selected for screening at the Dawson City International Short Film Festival 2013.

DCISFFlogo

Healing in Babalmé – A story of hope from a marginalized place tells the story of a humanitarian worker’s lived experiences during a malnutrition crisis in Chad, where a pastoralist community on the edge of the Sahara desert mobilizes its own resources to overcome effects of marginalization. This short experimental documentary is a witness to the power of supportive non-intervention and true community development.

für eine deutsche Übersetzung klicke hier: Hoffnung in Babalmé
I am pleased to announce, that my creative spirits have persisted, thanks to the encouragement of Celia and others, to revise and re-edit the animated audio-visual presentation based on my experiences in Chad. I still feel blessed that I have been able to witness the events that inspired me to write the story. They are still a source of hope for me. The events illustrate for me that there is “that of God in everyone”: People with nothing can make a difference if we don’t crush their individual and collective agency with might and paternalistic intentions.

The 2013 Dawson City International Short Film Festival will be another venue to share the message of hope with a wider audience.

You can enjoy the preview in this YouTube version anytime by clicking the arrow button:

Dedicated to the people of Babalmé and the North Kanem/Chad Continue reading “Hope on the horizon – the movie (+de)” →

Daily Random Act of Kindness #6 (+de)

Norwegian icebreaker at work on a river in Northern Canada – Norwegischer Eisbrecher im Einsatz auf einem Fluss im Norden Kanada’s (photo credit: joe-ks.com)

But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it. – Denn die Pforte ist eng und der Weg ist schmal, der zum Leben führt; und wenige sind es, die ihn finden. (Mt. 7:14)

As silly as the scene in the picture looks, it represents several important lessons for me:

  • A problem always has a solution.
  • Direct action can be more effective than waiting for outside/government help.
  • Self-help is more sustainable than professional solutions.
  • Employ the simplest means to get a job done.
  • Make the best with what you have.
  • Live your life adventurously!

What does this picture represent for you?

So blöd wie die Szene im Bild erscheinen mag, ich ziehe mehrere Lehren daraus:

  • Für jedes Problem gibt es eine Lösung.
  • Direkter Einsatz kann viel effektiver sein als auf Hilfe von aussen/der Regierung zu warten.
  • Selbsthilfe ist dauerhafter als eine professionelle Lösung.
  • Wende die einfachsten Hilfsmittel an um eine Arbeit auszuführen.
  • Mach das Beste mit dem was du hast.
  • Lebe dein Leben abenteuerlich!

Was sagt dir denn dieses Bild?

A good person out of the good treasury of the heart will bring forth that which is good; – Der gute Mensch bringt aus dem guten Schatz seines Herzens das Gute hervor. (Lk. 6:45)

Landfillharmonic

Dear Friends,
please enjoy and get inspired by this teaser film for a documentary called “LandFillharmonic” I found on an other blogsite. It is excellent evidence that we can make the best out of whatever we have, even if we have nothing!

“One day it occurred to me to teach music to the children of the recyclers and use my personal instruments,” explains 36 year-old Chávez, who worked as an ecological technician at the landfill. “But it got to the point that there were too many students and not enough supply. So that’s when I decided to experiment and try to actually create a few.”

Working beside the families for years Chávez eventually made friends and became acutely aware that the children needed something positive in their lives. He was inspired to do something to help. He began using the trash in the landfill to create instruments for the children.

The town of Cateura was built virtually on top of a landfill. Situated along the banks of the Paraguay River, the landfill receives over 1,500 more tons of solid waste each day. There are seven different neighborhoods built around the landfill, accounting for over 2500 families living in close proximity to dangerous waste. Most of the families, including children, are employed by the landfill as recyclers. The poverty has forced children to work in the landfills, neglecting any education that might lead them to a better life. (from: artjournal.com)

It matches the powerful message of my own film project about community development, empowerment, and resourcefulness “Healing in Babalmé”. Watch the short film on YouTube or follow this link:

Hope on the Horizon – the movie

Here is the link to the Landfillharmonic video: The world sends us garbage…

Scribblings from the Bluegrass

Check this out:

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Hope on the horizon – the movie (+de)

Healing in Babalmé – A story of hope from a marginalized place tells the story of a humanitarian worker’s lived experiences during a malnutrition crisis in Chad, where a pastoralist community on the edge of the Sahara desert mobilizes its own resources to overcome effects of marginalization. This short experimental documentary is a witness to the power of supportive non-intervention and true community development.

für eine deutsche Übersetzung klicke hier: Hoffnung in Babalmé
I am pleased to announce, that my creative spirits have persisted, thanks to the encouragement of Celia and others, to revise and re-edit the animated audio-visual presentation based on my experiences in Chad. I still feel blessed that I have been able to witness the events that inspired me to write the story. They are still a source of hope for me. The events illustrate for me that there is “that of God in everyone”: People with nothing can make a difference if we don’t crush their individual and collective agency with might and paternalistic intentions.

I am planning to submit this version to the Dawson City International Short Film Festival 2013.

DCISFFlogo

It will be another venue to share the message of hope with a wider audience.
You can enjoy the preview in this YouTube version anytime by clicking the arrow button:

Dedicated to the people of Babalmé and the North Kanem/Chad Continue reading “Hope on the horizon – the movie (+de)” →

Hope on the Horizon

"Hope on the Horizon" screenshot from the online version of the MSF Canada magazine Dispatches 16(2), Summer 2012
“Hope on the Horizon” screenshot from the online version of the MSF Canada magazine Dispatches 16(2), Summer 2012

I still remember my first visit to Babalme in July 2011. The MSF vehicle had to use a local guide to point at indistinguishable features on the horizon, a lone tree or a sand dune, to direct us more than twelve kilometers off the last known track in the desert sand. It was a bleak picture. The area was drier than the rest of the Sahel, not a single mud brick building, no school, no health centre – just people living a pastoralist life in a forgotten corner of Chad and close to the border with Niger.

Continue reading “Hope on the Horizon” →