Saturday, May 06, 2006
Patricia and Other Strong Women
Once again, Patricia (Lay-Dorsey) is in the thick of things. Her journal account of her activities continues to be mind boggling. She never ceases to give of herself to the cause of peace. Here is her journal entry for today. I couldn't resist quoting it in this space.
At 4:40 p.m. Abayomi looked at his watch, and I realized we needed to get going if we wanted to attend the 5 p.m. peace symposium at WSU that I'd told them about earlier. This extraordinary event was a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Wayne State University's Honors Program. Organized by Dr. Ali Moiin of The Shirin Ebadi Foundation and titled "The Role of Governments in Achieving or Obstructing Worldwide Peace," it featured four women Nobel Laureates, three of whom would be there in person and the fourth would be speaking to us via video.
So I scooted the five blocks to WSU's General Lectures Auditorium in my fastest mode, and Abayomi drove Judith over in his car. We got there in plenty of time. I pulled my "disabled card" and even got us seats in the front row that was being reserved for dignitaries. Judith and I were there for the entire presentation, and Abayomi, who had to take care of some business, joined us at the break.
The program was introduced by Dr. Ali Moiin of The Shirin Ebadi Foundation, followed by a musical prelude entitled "Invocation for World Peace" played poignantly by cellist Michael Fitzpatrick. After greetings by Professor Jerry Herron, Director of the Honors Program, and by WSU President Irvin Reid, Justice Maura Corrigan of Michigan's Supreme Court introduced the Nobel Laureates. She wove excerpts from W.H. Auden's poem, "September 1, 1939," into each introduction and his words offered a powerful context to the evening. One stanza that moved me greatly was:
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.
Each of the four speakers was given about fifteen minutes for her presentation. After a break, there was to be a question and answer period--questions submitted by audience members in writing--at which time U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D, Michigan) would join the panel.
We first heard from Betty Williams, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner with Mairead Corrigan for founding the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (renamed Community of Peace People) and for their work to bring peace in their native Ireland. Ms. Williams was unable to attend in person but spoke via video.
I didn't take notes as I did with the other speakers, but vividly recall her putting forward statistics and stories of children across the globe who suffer dislocation, death and wounds because of wars, and malnutrition, starvation and illnesses that could be prevented and/or treated if governments cared enough to do so. Since 1992, her primary focus has been these children. Her Global Children's Studies Center evolved into the World Centers of Compassion for Children International that she founded in 1997 in honour of the Dalai Lama.
Betty Williams was completedly honest in her assessment of how governments provide or obstruct worldwide peace. She described the United States government as obstructing peace in almost every way possible, and said that U.S. President George W. Bush, who is waging an endless war on terrorism, is a terrorist himself, and probably the most dangerous one in our world today. The audience responded to this statement with cheers and sustained applause.
Shirin Ebadi of Iran spoke next. This lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her efforts for democracy and human rights, especially the rights of women and children. A conscientious Muslim herself, Ms. Ebadi sees no conflict between the tenets of Islam and democracy. But, for us to understand where she was coming from, it was essential that we hear her description of what she calls "advanced democracy" and how it differs from what most governments call "democracy."
Ms. Ebadi frequently referred to the separation between people and their government as an indication that a true democracy does not exist. In countries like Iran, she pointed out the difficulties that occur when the government becomes overly identified with its dominant religion. She said there is no such thing as an Islamic or Christian democracy, that when religion takes over the government then dissent is not allowed because it is seen as criticism of the religion, not just the government. In a democracy, dissent must be allowed. But, contrary to many Western interpretations, Ms. Ebadi asserts that Islam and democracy are compatible since Islam "is a religion of equality."
As a lifelong human rights advocate and activist, Shirin Ebadi is well aware of the temptation in what she calls "superficial democracies," for governmental leaders who have taken the majority of the votes to take care of that majority while ignoring or even oppressing the minorities in their country. She stressed that the leaders of any real democracy must respect the human rights of ALL, not just their electoral base. Democracy and human rights can never be separated.
Ms. Ebadi spoke of the role of oil in many of today's Middle Eastern conflicts. "The bloodstream of the world's technology exists in this region," is how she put it. And it all boils down to greed. "Colonization and exploitation exist everywhere," Ms. Ebadi went on to say. And the colonizers prefer to have puppets in power in the countries they want to loot. She brought up the 1953 CIA-engineered overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh, the democratically-elected Prime Minister of Iran, after he had threatened to nationalize British oil. The CIA replaced him with a dictator, the Shah of Iran, who had America's oil interests at heart. She repeatedly warned that when a people feel separated from their government, they have no will to resist, which is most dangerous.
But Ms. Ebadi's passion really flared when she brought up the issue of women's rights. So often in countries that call themselves democratic, women are the last to benefit. They get whatever is left over after the men have had their fill. "The victory of feminist movements will open the door for democracy in the Middle East. Women who fight for equality of rights are the pioneers of peace."
Ms. Ebadi closed by saying, "Instead of bringing democracy through cluster bombs, let women bring democracy through working for women's rights!"
(back to Dorothy)
It so happened that I saw a television interview with Dr. Ebadi this week. She is truly amazing. She has been imprisoned for her views, but is now free. She made it clear that she supports the idea of democracy, but that it can never be imposed from without. The people themselves must desire it and bring it into being. She also said she did not want her cause to receive money from the U. S., because then she and her fellow advocates would be accused of being pawns of America. She stated that she did not want the support of governments, but of the people of those countries.
When you encounter persons of such dignity and strength, you are encouraged for the future of our world.
And thank you, Patricia, for your own courage and wisdom, and the example you set for all of us.
At 4:40 p.m. Abayomi looked at his watch, and I realized we needed to get going if we wanted to attend the 5 p.m. peace symposium at WSU that I'd told them about earlier. This extraordinary event was a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Wayne State University's Honors Program. Organized by Dr. Ali Moiin of The Shirin Ebadi Foundation and titled "The Role of Governments in Achieving or Obstructing Worldwide Peace," it featured four women Nobel Laureates, three of whom would be there in person and the fourth would be speaking to us via video.
So I scooted the five blocks to WSU's General Lectures Auditorium in my fastest mode, and Abayomi drove Judith over in his car. We got there in plenty of time. I pulled my "disabled card" and even got us seats in the front row that was being reserved for dignitaries. Judith and I were there for the entire presentation, and Abayomi, who had to take care of some business, joined us at the break.
The program was introduced by Dr. Ali Moiin of The Shirin Ebadi Foundation, followed by a musical prelude entitled "Invocation for World Peace" played poignantly by cellist Michael Fitzpatrick. After greetings by Professor Jerry Herron, Director of the Honors Program, and by WSU President Irvin Reid, Justice Maura Corrigan of Michigan's Supreme Court introduced the Nobel Laureates. She wove excerpts from W.H. Auden's poem, "September 1, 1939," into each introduction and his words offered a powerful context to the evening. One stanza that moved me greatly was:
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.
Each of the four speakers was given about fifteen minutes for her presentation. After a break, there was to be a question and answer period--questions submitted by audience members in writing--at which time U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D, Michigan) would join the panel.
We first heard from Betty Williams, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner with Mairead Corrigan for founding the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (renamed Community of Peace People) and for their work to bring peace in their native Ireland. Ms. Williams was unable to attend in person but spoke via video.
I didn't take notes as I did with the other speakers, but vividly recall her putting forward statistics and stories of children across the globe who suffer dislocation, death and wounds because of wars, and malnutrition, starvation and illnesses that could be prevented and/or treated if governments cared enough to do so. Since 1992, her primary focus has been these children. Her Global Children's Studies Center evolved into the World Centers of Compassion for Children International that she founded in 1997 in honour of the Dalai Lama.
Betty Williams was completedly honest in her assessment of how governments provide or obstruct worldwide peace. She described the United States government as obstructing peace in almost every way possible, and said that U.S. President George W. Bush, who is waging an endless war on terrorism, is a terrorist himself, and probably the most dangerous one in our world today. The audience responded to this statement with cheers and sustained applause.
Shirin Ebadi of Iran spoke next. This lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her efforts for democracy and human rights, especially the rights of women and children. A conscientious Muslim herself, Ms. Ebadi sees no conflict between the tenets of Islam and democracy. But, for us to understand where she was coming from, it was essential that we hear her description of what she calls "advanced democracy" and how it differs from what most governments call "democracy."
Ms. Ebadi frequently referred to the separation between people and their government as an indication that a true democracy does not exist. In countries like Iran, she pointed out the difficulties that occur when the government becomes overly identified with its dominant religion. She said there is no such thing as an Islamic or Christian democracy, that when religion takes over the government then dissent is not allowed because it is seen as criticism of the religion, not just the government. In a democracy, dissent must be allowed. But, contrary to many Western interpretations, Ms. Ebadi asserts that Islam and democracy are compatible since Islam "is a religion of equality."
As a lifelong human rights advocate and activist, Shirin Ebadi is well aware of the temptation in what she calls "superficial democracies," for governmental leaders who have taken the majority of the votes to take care of that majority while ignoring or even oppressing the minorities in their country. She stressed that the leaders of any real democracy must respect the human rights of ALL, not just their electoral base. Democracy and human rights can never be separated.
Ms. Ebadi spoke of the role of oil in many of today's Middle Eastern conflicts. "The bloodstream of the world's technology exists in this region," is how she put it. And it all boils down to greed. "Colonization and exploitation exist everywhere," Ms. Ebadi went on to say. And the colonizers prefer to have puppets in power in the countries they want to loot. She brought up the 1953 CIA-engineered overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh, the democratically-elected Prime Minister of Iran, after he had threatened to nationalize British oil. The CIA replaced him with a dictator, the Shah of Iran, who had America's oil interests at heart. She repeatedly warned that when a people feel separated from their government, they have no will to resist, which is most dangerous.
But Ms. Ebadi's passion really flared when she brought up the issue of women's rights. So often in countries that call themselves democratic, women are the last to benefit. They get whatever is left over after the men have had their fill. "The victory of feminist movements will open the door for democracy in the Middle East. Women who fight for equality of rights are the pioneers of peace."
Ms. Ebadi closed by saying, "Instead of bringing democracy through cluster bombs, let women bring democracy through working for women's rights!"
(back to Dorothy)
It so happened that I saw a television interview with Dr. Ebadi this week. She is truly amazing. She has been imprisoned for her views, but is now free. She made it clear that she supports the idea of democracy, but that it can never be imposed from without. The people themselves must desire it and bring it into being. She also said she did not want her cause to receive money from the U. S., because then she and her fellow advocates would be accused of being pawns of America. She stated that she did not want the support of governments, but of the people of those countries.
When you encounter persons of such dignity and strength, you are encouraged for the future of our world.
And thank you, Patricia, for your own courage and wisdom, and the example you set for all of us.
