Sunday, April 22, 2007

Eric Volz case TONIGHT!!!

*Dateline NBC* will air their story about Eric Volz story on THIS SUNDAY
night, April 22.
The show airs 8pm - 9pm (in all time zones), but please watch NBC for more
information, double-check your local schedule or go to
http://www.nbc.com/for current listings.

*CNN Anderson Cooper 360* is scheduled to air their Eric Volz story on THIS
MONDAY night, April 23.
The show airs at 10pm ET / 9pm CT /  8pm MT / 7pm PT, but please watch for
more information, double-check your local schedule or go to
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/ for current listings.

Thanks,
Alyssa

--
Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Day 3 Strategy: Supporting Eric

Today is a 2-part strategy in the FREE ERIC V. Avalanche.

First, donate to Eric's legal defense.

Preparing for the appeals process has been incredibly costly. The financial
demands have exhausted the resources of Eric's friends and family. As a
result, the FREE ERIC V. team has asked for donations from those who have
heard about the case and share the same passion for justice and for Eric's
freedom. Please give what you can by going to
http://www.friendsofericvolz.com/donate.htm

Second, for those not able to make a monetary donation, we urge you to write
a support letter to Eric. These support letters have become a life force
for him during this journey.

Eric said of those who have reached out to him, "A friend asked in a letter,
'Where are you pulling your strength from?' The answer is — all of you are
my strength. The prayers, the campaigns, the letters, the movement — without
you I would be lost."

If you are unable to give a donation, please take the time to write Eric by
linking here: http://www.friendsofericvolz.com/write.htm

As we move into each day approaching the appeal — TEAM FREE ERIC V. will not
be stopped!

~~~~~~

For those interested in the latest letter from Eric, please continue
reading. These are his words below:
Tuesday
4/17/07

Today is my day to go out in to the yard. It's called "el patio sol" here.
The yard is a dirt square a little bigger than a basketball court. They give
me two hours alone so I usually jog the perimeter for an hour and stretch
and do pull-ups on the fence for the other hour. (I calculated this morning
that since my arrest in Nov. 2006, I've been outside for more than 15
minutes only 12 times, with the maximum being 3 hours. Needless to say, I
ain't got no suntan going on!)

Today is special though cause I got permission to go to the "iron pile"
(gym) and work out for an hour. After the yard, this will be a nice
variation to my normal, weightless, workout in the gallery. Anyways, I have
about 25 minutes to write this letter so here goes...

I would like to start by sharing a couple of excerpts from letters I have
received in the last month:

"ERIC, your suffering is producing good fruit in my life. God is using your
story to sober me, to wake me, to call me to action, to shake me up. He is
taking a blade to the roots of sin in my life; sloth, greed, and
complacency. He just keeps whispering your name to me."
(A letter from a stranger)

"Hang in there brother. The boys of H BLOCK got your back."
(Prisoner sentenced to life in a jail in the U.S.)

"Your story will change lives: your story already has changed lives. It is
just the beginning and there is a world waiting to hear it." (Young woman
from California)

"I read about what happened to you and for some reason it has really
affected me."
(Letter from Portugal)

"Right now your life is the heartbeat for about a million others!"
(Letter from Mexico)

"I have never protested anything publicly and I have no interest in trying
for political office to improve society. But since I've been reading blogs,
sending mails, and seeing people respond to your situation, I've felt this
wonderful sense of POSSIBILITY. People are actually getting involved and it
has rejuvenated my hope democracy."
(Computer consultant, U.S.A)

"You are teaching a lot of people many different things while going through
this, however hard it may be."
(Unknown)

"We are fighting for you!"
(9 year old)

I, like thousands of others, would like you to know that I am praying for
you and your family. You are obviously a very special child of the universe;
otherwise, the adversary would not have worked so hard against you, it must
be hard to believe that now, but it is true."
(Support letter through the website)

"I just learned about you on You Tube. This video has really captured me and
I'm going to write my Congressman and a friend who works at the State Dept."
(University of CA, San Diego alumni)

These are just a few excerpts from a small batch of letters. The letters
touch on people's emotions, social views, how they found out, their outrage,
ways they have been reflecting on themselves, etc. (there have been some
pretty insane hate mails as well, but I will have to get into that some
other time.).

So that people can visualize: I read the letters in my cell. They are
printed on paper and are brought to me about once every 2-3 weeks. I do
receive them all. I have to be somewhat secretive with the letters so the
others prisoners don't get jealous so I stash them under my mattress. I
encourage people to keep writing even if it is just a couple lines, I get to
see who is writing and subsequently, it allows me to grasp the size of the
awareness network.

Most important regarding the support I want to say the following: a man can
live weeks without food, days without water, but can't go minutes without
HOPE.

The letters of support reporting the many ways in which people are fighting
for me, give me tremendous hope. It shows me extent of the fellowship that
is sharing in my suffering and this takes much of the burden off my
shoulders. It makes the time I'm doing less painful and frees my spirit. I
have no idea why I have been appointed to be the lightning rod for all of
this, but you can imagine how it makes me feel to read from in these walls
that "my suffering is producing good fruit" in people's lives around the
world. It overwhelms me with deep strength and peace.

At times the is despair so overwhelming there are no words, there is pain so
deep it does not have a name, and the fear is so powerful we cannot paint
his face. Yet, as a result of those who love and support me I see beauty
above it all.

I am holding firm, for I know that I'm not meant to stay here and a great
adventure lies ahead. I'm writing. I have documented as much as possible. I
have filled many journals and look forward to the day when I can share the
details.

What a story it is! A story of injustice, of danger, of near death
experience, of courage, of moral strength, of hate, corruption, romance,
guns, politics, media, of death, of collective energy, of spiritual
pilgrimage, of love, of faith, and of the creator filling the hearts of
ordinary people with the energy, wisdom, and might to do extraordinary
things that without his help would be completely out of our mortal grasp.
Perhaps most intense for me is that its not over yet…

In closing I would like to ask that people send positive thoughts and
prayers to DORIS, her family, my family, the defense team in Nicaragua,
safety in prison, and lastly the gate keeper who will be overseeing my
appeal.

With much love,
ERIC V.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Eric Volz case in Nicaragua


I am going to be covering a very urgent case of a young man, Eric Volz, unjustly accused of murder in Nacaragua. He happens to be the son of an aquaintance of mine. The appeal is going to court this week and the urgency of contacting the media, etc. is crucial. There is international attention on this case right now, and the media could play a huge role if it will report the happenings honestly and consistently. Here's how you can read mor about the case:

www.friendsofericvolz.com or
www.myspace.com/freeericvolzas

More to follow.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Briefly It Enters, and Briefly Speaks


Quiet Hours. © Graywolf Press. Reprinted with permission.

Briefly It Enters, and Briefly Speaks

I am the blossom pressed in a book,
found again after two hundred years... .

I am the maker, the lover, and the keeper... .

When the young girl who starves
sits down to a table
she will sit beside me... .

I am food on the prisoner's plate... .

I am water rushing to the wellhead,
filling the pitcher until it spills... .

I am the patient gardener
of the dry and weedy garden... .

I am the stone step,
the latch, and the working hinge... .

I am the heart contracted by joy... .
the longest hair, white
before the rest... .
I am there in the basket of fruit
presented to the widow... .

I am the musk rose opening
unattended, the fern on the boggy summit... .

I am the one whose love
overcomes you, already with you
when you think to call my name... .

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

How They Voted on UNCSW





Economic and Social Council
WOM/1622
Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York
Commission on the Status of Women
Fifty-first Session
13th Meeting* (PM)

AS SESSION ENDS, COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN APPROVES TEXTS ON PALESTINIAN

WOMEN, PROTECTION FROM HIV/AIDS, FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION, FORCED MARRIAGE

Members Adopt Provisional Agenda; Elect Chair, Other Officials of Bureau


Background

The Commission on the Status of Women met this afternoon to take action on several draft resolutions and adopt its agreed conclusions.

/...

Action on Draft Resolutions

/...

The Chairperson then turned the Commission's attention to the draft resolution on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women (document E/CN.6/2007/L.2), saying it also contained no budget implications.

The representative of Pakistan made oral amendments to the text, after which the Chairperson said a recorded vote had been requested.

Asked by the representative of Pakistan who had asked for the vote, the Chairperson said the United States delegate had requested it.

The representative of Israel, making a general statement, said that, as in previous years, the Commission had before it a politically motivated text. Since it did not address the Palestinians' internal human rights abuses and continued terror -- which caused suffering to both Palestinian and Israeli women -- the draft left much to be desired.

Human Rights Watch had reported abuse of women, such as honour killings, she said, adding that other instances of human rights abuses had been reported to the Commission by the Secretary-General and others. The deliberate exclusion of those instances distorted the draft resolution. Indeed, it was in the interest of all parties to improve Palestinian women's quality of life, but the current Palestinian leadership had not fulfilled it obligations, as stipulated by the Quartet. If Hamas did not embrace its responsibility to end terror, women on both sides would continue to suffer. The draft resolution was another reminder of the "stark contrast between reality and rhetoric on First Avenue".

The Commission then approved the text by a recorded vote of 40 in favour to 2 against ( Canada, United States), with no abstentions. (See Annex.)

The representative of the United States, speaking in explanation of vote, said her country remained deeply concerned about the impact of the current crisis on Palestinian women and the entire Palestinian population. The United States was the largest bilateral donor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and contributed significant amounts to other programmes of the Organization, besides bilateral assistance to needy Palestinians. However, it grieved for innocent Israelis, including Israeli women, who had suffered and died due to Palestinian terror attacks -- a reality that many did not recognize. The international focus should be on helping both parties to maintain progress. One-sided resolutions undermined the ability of the United Nations to play a constructive role in furthering peace, which would improve the lot of Palestinian women more than anything else.

The representative of Germany, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the text was of a primarily humanitarian nature. The European Union remained the largest contributor of assistance to the Palestinian people and had voted in favour of the text. Deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict on all women in the region, including both Palestinian and Israeli women, the European Union underscored the need for an approach that took into consideration the impact of the conflict on all sides. The role of women in the peace process was worthy of further investment, and the European Union invited the delegation of the Palestinian Permanent Observer Mission to engage in a dialogue on how best to address the issue at the United Nations. The European Union's vote today was without prejudice to future positions it might take in the Commission and other fora.

The representative of Canada said his country was committed to alleviating poverty and addressing socio-economic inequities throughout the world, including those affecting Palestinian women. However, Canada was concerned about operative paragraph 4 of the text, which called on Israel to facilitate the return of refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes. It seemed to prejudge negotiations on key issues arising from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which could only be addressed through a settlement on final status issues.

The observer for Palestine thanked those who had voted in favour of the draft resolution, especially the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. The text sent a strong message of solidarity with the women of Palestine. Though some said it was one-sided, it was not the text, but rather the situation as a whole, that was unbalanced. The occupying Power had continued to carry out illegal measures with complete impunity for 40 years, causing misery to Palestinians, whom it held hostage. The statement by its representative seemed to have distorted the issue at hand. Israel should take care to examine its own domestic situation by looking at abuses occurring at the highest levels of its own Government. The only way to guarantee the rights of Palestinian women was for Israel to end its occupation.

/...

The representative of Zambia requested the floor regarding the draft resolution on Palestinian women, saying she would have voted in favour of the text had her delegation been in the room.

The representative of Lesotho said she also would have voted in favour had she been present.

/...


ANNEX

Vote on Palestinian Women

The draft resolution on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women (document E/CN.6/2007/L.2) was approved by a recorded vote of 40 in favour to 2 against, as follows:

In favour: Algeria, Armenia, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Congo, Croatia, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Suriname, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania.

Against: Canada, United States.

Absent: Cameroon, Lesotho, Zambia.

* *** *

__________

* The 12th Meeting was closed.

For information media • not an official record

Friday, April 6, 2007

Leaving

The Reverend James V. Stockton is Rector of The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Austin (Diocese of Texas). He posted these reflections on the House of Bishops/Deputies listserv, and has given permission for us to publish his thoughts on The Episcopal Majority site.

This piece comes to us from the Reverend Thomas Woodward along with this note:

I find Jim Stockton's article both comforting and challenging -- and believe it will be so for the whole of The Episcopal Church. We are publishing it at The Episcopal Majority both for its intrinsic value and for what it evokes and provokes. We hope you will engage us and one another with your comments.



Leaving
(The Rev. James V. Stockton)

Bishop Cox is 'leaving' for the Southern Cone; Bishop Herzog is leaving for Roman catholicism; the Church in England is leaving Rome to become the Church of England; and the Church of England in the American Colonies is leaving to form the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The difference between the latter two instances and the two former is that the first two are current and the latter are now history. But they all serve to demonstrate that division per se is not an evil in and of itself. To suppose that the devil is enjoying all this is to presume that the devil is paying attention to any of this and doesn't have more important things to do. I think it's time for a reality check. Division doesn't equal decay. Division is the natural and God-given process that enables growth. So I pray we can all relax the lamentations a bit and bring our reactions into a healthier perspective. Let's make sure not to confuse religion with denomination, faith with Church. Our religion is Christianity, our faith is Christian. Our denomination is the Episcopal Church, and our Church is a part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic ideal. When people depart the Episcopal Church, they aren't, unless specifically stipulated, departing Christ or Christianity.

So, where people choose to follow their consciences rather than compromise them, I see God at work in this, not the devil. Where there are available a multiplicity of branches extending from the one tree of the Christian faith, I see God at work in this, not the devil. Where the entirety of Christianity is indeed almost able to be all things in order to reach all people, I see God at work in this, not the devil.

Conversely, where I see a single branch trying to function as the whole tree, I see human pride at work in this. Where I see people unable or unwilling to celebrate one another's progress in relationship with God because that progress draws them out of conformity with one another, I see human pride at work in this. When I see people unable or unwilling to renew and adapt their relationships with one another as they follow their respective paths, I see human pride at work in this.

What is it, after all, that is 'dividing' people? People aren't leaving Christ Jesus; they aren't leaving the Communion of Saints. They are leaving nothing greater than the former structures of relationship; that's all. It is differences around ecclesiology that are causing some people to divide from one another. And this is not automatically a bad or evil thing. Some people simply cannot or will not abide a Church that admits and allows a plurality of theological views on matters beyond the Creeds. Matters of hermeneutics, authority and power, social conformity, all come under the umbrella of definitions of 'Church;' and these are the matters around which some are deciding to leave.

Bp Cox, former Bp Herzog, Martyn Minns, David Anderson, and others are following their hearts and minds to Christian relationships that do not as deeply include some of the rest of us as did our former official relationships. Our own convictions are moving us to remain. Our staying put and their departures are outward and visible signs of an inward and invisible reality. If the adjustments in our relationships help keep us all more honest, then so much the better for all of us. And we will do well then to remember that ecumenism is a fine old tradition of our Church. Wherever there are good, decent, faithful people upon whom we wish to call for the service of our own progress in faith, then thanks be to God, there are simple honorable ways for us to invite one another to share our gifts.

I would encourage us to rejoice that people who choose not to remain under the particular banner of the Episcopal Church are in fact free to exercise their consciences, and that they have available to them fellowships of Christian faith that are better suited to them to which they can go. The real tragedy would be for people to compromise their deeply held convictions in order simply to stay superficially and under duress. What is actually lamentable in some of this is the insistence by some that those from whom they are departing are no longer real and genuine Christians. This sort of Christian-on-Christian sin truly is indeed lamentable. For, while you and I may disagree about the relative gravity of concerns that move people to leave, there is no inherent tragedy in the departure itself. If people are following their consciences, being the best Christian they know how to be, then thanks be to God, and let's stay in touch. All that's happening is some people are "changing their addresses"; they're not dying, for goodness sake. If we're really important to one another, then we'll allow all of this to function only as distinction, not as division. We won't allow it to come between us, but only to draw us closer in the work and faith we share.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Mortality in Afghanistan


Mojadidi Opens Her Lens to Afghan Motherland

By Sharon Johnson - WeNews correspondent

(WOMENSENEWS)--Sedika Mojadidi, an Afghan American filmmaker, watched in horror as an expectant mother gasped for breath in the maternity ward of Rabia Balkhi Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2003.

The 15-year-old woman and her husband had traveled on horseback for three days because they wanted their first child to be born in the largest women's hospital in the war-torn country. But preeclampsia--dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy--and the lack of prenatal care in their mountain village had taken their toll: mother and infant died despite the heroic efforts of the obstetrics team.

Despairing scenes like this are common in Afghanistan where 16 percent of women die while pregnant or during childbirth, one every 30 minutes. Afghanistan today has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world, behind only Sierra Leone, according to the United Nations. In some areas of Afghanistan, maternal rates are as high as 6,000 per 100,000 women.

Afghans' hopes were high that maternal health would improve in the country in October 2001 when the U.S.-led invasion toppled the hard-line Taliban regime. Hundreds of reporters poured into Afghanistan to describe the establishment of a new government and plans to build hospitals and schools. But by 2003, most journalists had departed for Iraq, when Mojadidi and her father returned to their native Kabul from Jacksonville, Fla., where the family had immigrated in 1973.

Dr. Qudrat Mojadidi, an obstetrician specializing in high-risk pregnancies, had been recruited by the U.S. government to help rehabilitate Rabia Balkhi Hospital, including a unit that was renamed as the Laura Bush Maternity Ward. Sedika Mojadidi had come along to make "Motherland Afghanistan," a behind-the-scenes documentary that looked at the crippled health care system and its impact on women.

Elizabeth H. Williams, acting director of the Asia Society's Asian Social Issues Program, said the film, coupled with data and other public health efforts, might spur changes in public policy and generate funding by highlighting a rare issue in today's media coverage of war and reconstruction.

"To do a feature-length film on maternal mortality is really important, because there are not a lot of people out there doing that," she said. "It's one of the key issues."

Concentrated on Systemic Neglect

Unlike other reporters who have focused on the continuing U.S. military presence and the hunt for terrorists in Afghanistan, Mojadidi concentrated on how the systematic neglect of basic services such as prenatal care is undermining U.S. efforts to win hearts and minds.

"I hope the film will give American audiences a more realistic view of Afghan women," said Mojadidi in an interview before a sold-out February screening at the Asia Society in New York. "For the past 25 years, Afghan women have either been ignored in news reports of the Russian occupation and the subsequent civil war, or portrayed in TV films as victims. However, the women in my documentaries don't consider themselves victims; they do everything possible to keep themselves and their children alive."

To film Afghan women living under the brutal Taliban for her first film, "Kabul, Kabul," in 1996, she hid a tiny camera under her veil and traveled in a hospital van to avoid being stopped by police.

For "Motherland Afghanistan," her second film, Mojadidi tapped her experience as a field producer and cameraperson on several medical shows on the Learning Channel. Coming up with a script was difficult because so many factors influence maternal mortality, she said.

High Death Rate for Women

Most Afghans are desperately poor; the United Nations Development Program estimates that 70 percent of the population lives below the poverty line of $2 a day. Although the legal marriage age is 18, 57 percent of girls marry before 16. Few women deliver in a medical facility because there are only 1,100 clinics and 100 hospitals serving 30 million Afghans. As a result, half of all deaths among women of reproductive age are the result of pregnancy and childbirth.

"I decided that the best way to personalize the crisis was to make my father the central character because he has devoted his life to delivering babies and training doctors in Afghanistan," Mojadidi said. "In 2002, he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his 20 years of work with Afghan refugee women."

The Laura Bush Maternity Ward was not what the Mojadidis had expected.

"Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had touted the hospital as a state-of-the-art facility on its Web site and press releases, it was a disaster," she said. "Infection control was nonexistent; patients delivered on the same plastic sheets one after another. Patients had to buy medications for their surgeries from a pharmacy near the hospital because promised supplies never arrived."

U.S. officials discouraged her from filming the delivery rooms and interviewing the overworked staff.

Struggle to Improve Maternal Care

Her father, Dr. Mojadidi, realized that he couldn't do enough to improve health care at the hospital and resigned after several months. Two years later, an Afghan-led nongovernmental organization that manages hospitals, schools and shelters in Central Afghanistan persuaded him to come back to work at Shuhada Hospital, a rural facility that emphasizes prevention and education. Sedika spent two months there finishing "Motherland Afghanistan."

"Every day my father resisted being on camera but relented because he and the staffs of the hospitals agreed that showing him treating patients in such deplorable conditions was the best way to get the truth out about the maternal mortality crisis," said Mojadidi. "Making the film gave me new insights into the challenges he has faced in his profession and brought us closer. However, making a film together is not an experience that either of us wants to repeat; it is too stressful."

The film's final scenes are profiles in perseverance and hope. After delivering a premature baby, Dr. Mojadidi shows the staff how to treat the infant's respiratory problem. He also instructs the team in the latest methods of treating obstetric fistula and the resulting urinary incontinence following childbirth. As a result, they successfully complete a complicated surgery and, despite the odds, are able to cure a young mother who had been unable to leave her home for four years.

Since "Motherland Afghanistan" was completed, Dr. Mojadidi has trained the first five doctors in an obstetric-gynecological fellowship program for CURE International Hospital in Kabul.

Mojadidi is also working on a new film project that focuses on another common experience of Afghan women: arranged marriages.

"Many people in the independent film business have warned me that a film about a young Afghan woman who comes to the U.S. and meets her husband for the first time will never attract audiences because Americans are only interested in films about the war in Iraq these days," said Mojadidi. "But I'm going ahead because I think that everybody can identify with a resilient Afghan woman who creates a new life in America."

--Alison Bowen contributed to this story.

Sharon Johnson is a New York freelance writer.