Performers act out scenes of conflict that mimic audience member's stories.
We’re featuring stories of how participatory theater is changing attitudes and sparking conversation in Rwanda. Oftentimes conflict over land arises not between strangers or neighbors but between family members. The scarcity of land versus the density of the population means that inheritance is a subject often fraught with feelings of jealousy, greed and marginalization. International Intern, Elise Webb brings us another story of how theater brought two siblings toward understanding: read more…
Muslim-Americans promote interfaith relations during Ramadan
American Muslim soldiers celebrating the end of Ramadan at Fort Jackson last year (Fort Jackson Leader/Wikimedia Commons)
Today is the first day of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting, during which Muslims refrain from eating or drinking during daylight hours. This is intended to teach them about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God. It is also intended to make Muslims empathize with the plight of the less fortunate, those who might go hungry not for religious reasons but from lack of money to buy food.
Rabbi Gerald Serotta (right) with Imam Arafat at an interfaith iftar (clergybeyondborders.org)
Since September 11, 2001, the Muslim-American community has become more concerned about reaching out to the broader community and countering some of the harmful stereotypes about Muslims. The month of Ramadan often serves as an occasion for this outreach. Local mosques have started opening their doors to non-Muslims and hosting interfaith iftars—fast-breaking meals Muslims eat at sundown—inviting civic and religious leaders to participate.
According to Zaher Saloul, the chairman of the Council of Islamic Associations of Greater Chicago, “the initial reaction [to September 11] was more openness and civic engagement with people of other religions and groups. I think we are moving in the right direction in spite of the fact that you have right now a more negative perception of Islam than at the time of 9/11.”
The Council of Islamic Associations of Greater Chicago, an umbrella group for 56 Islamic organizations in Chicago and the suburbs, has launched a campaign “Together for a Better America,” and is urging its members to have remembrance dinners during Ramadan honoring the victims and first responders of September 11. The council is also encouraging Muslims to participate in municipal and township planning of September 11 commemorative events. The campaign will culminate on September 10, with a gathering of religious, interfaith and civic leaders honoring the victims and first responders.
Readers who are interested in learning more can read the article in Chicago’s Daily Herald.
By Nathalie Sheppe
Youth in Guinea before the 2010 Presidential Election (france24)
I’ve spent the last three weeks preparing and conducting an evaluation of Barada, one of Search Guinea’s mainstay radio programs. I’ve been working so closely with the program that I almost lost sight of what the word “Barada” actually means. It means teapot. In Guinea, tea drinking is a social staple of the young. Throughout the day and into the night, groups of youths sit around a simmering teapot gossiping, analyzing, and even at times arguing. There are several topics of discussion but politics is a perennial favorite. While no one can question the value of healthy debate, the practice’s pervasiveness speaks to a more sober reality– one which involves high levels of unemployment amongst Guinean youth. Youth unemployment is a major problem in West Africa. According to a 2007 paper by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), available data shows that in 2005, the economically active population among 15-19 year olds was 49% among women and 58% among men. The absolute levels of unemployment, when considered in conjunction with the effects of under-employment and poor working conditions, indicate that this age group faces severe economic adversity.
Yet despite the very real hardships that they confront, you’d be hard pressed to find a trace of defeatism in Guinean youths–Frustration yes, defeatism no. What keeps them from sundering? I’d say it’s a sense of personal responsibility for their own condition and well-being. read more…
Raising the national flag of South Sudan (myvistingcard.com)
The Republic of South Sudan became the world’s newest independent nation earlier this month. However, while people are celebrating in Juba, the new nation’s capital, fighting continues in South Kordofan, a disputed border region which is technically part of the North. The Northern government, based in Khartoum, has been conducting a campaign of terror against the Nuba people, who they see as rebels, as well as against the soldiers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. Al Jazeera’s People and Power program conducted interviews with people from the region as well as with Abdel Aziz Adam Al Hilu, the regional leader of the SPLA. Abdel Aziz told the reporter that, although the SPLA accepts that South Kordofan will remain part of Northern Sudan, their aim is a restructuring of the central government so that people from all regions can have a larger share of power. If this restructuring fails, than the SPLA will have no choice but to fight for their right to self-determination.
“We are losing our listening,” says sound expert Julian Treasure in his beautifully reflective TED talk. And we do so at our own detriment as “Conscious listening creates understanding…And a world where we don’t listen to each other at all is a very scary place indeed.”
In this age of too much noise we are losing our ability to pay attention to “the quiet, the subtle, the understated…”
But he does have some tips on how we can reverse this process, to better hear and truly understand those around us:
Soldiers of the FARDC attending a sensitivity training session
By Ilunga Kalala
“Is this the Congo River?” I asked as we drove down Avenue de la Montange en route to l’État Major Général (FARDC Headquarters in Kinshasa).
“Yes, it is” my colleague responded.
I had been in Kinshasa for two whole weeks and that was the first time I saw the Congo River. Ideally, I would have taken a moment to give it its due deference, to consider its depth and power (it’s the deepest river in the world with enough hydroelectric power to provide electricity to several countries in Southern Africa). However, my mind was elsewhere. In a few minutes, we would be meeting with the Forces armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC) about Lobi Mokolo Ya Sika (“Tomorrow is a New Day”): Search for Common Ground’s program to strengthen the human rights performance of the FARDC. read more…
