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December 23, 2005
The Holidays
The holidays bring about more than just snow flurries. There's a flurry of giving, spending, and working hard. There's face-to-face time with family and friends, year-end review and new year resolve. The air is brisk and so is business. Every action echoes louder, and the world abounds in good intent and positive gestures.
At this time of year, do you feel a little uplift?
I do.
I feel overjoyed that the Violence Against Women Act was renewed by Congress on December 20.
I feel that with one click of the mouse, my petition letter is the tipping point of thousands reaching the politicians' doorstep in Washington.
I feel that this is the year Tina Frundt's escape from forced prostitution in the US will be told on MTV.
I feel that the Department of Justice will change their ruling on Ann's asylum case, and extend the application deadline for all minors and survivors of human trafficking.
I feel that Rodi Alvarado from Guatemala will also win asylum, setting a milestone for women refugees leaving behind domestic violence.
I feel that Lin Chew's efforts will move anti-trafficking efforts into the human rights frameworkbringing more dignity and legal protection to survivors.
I feel that Liberia and Chile will reach new milestones under the leadership of female presidents who plan to place women and girls high on the social and political agenda.
I feel that Louisiana and Mississippi will find the expertise of women inextricably valuable in the post-Katrina re-building of neighborhoods and businesses and levees.
I feel that the war in Iraq will end, the troops will come home, and both Baghdad and Washington, DC, will begin re-investing in the re-building, health-care, education, and job opportunity that each country needs for its people to thrive.
I feel that I can do one more click to fair trade shopping, one more vote, one more thing before the year ends, and it will make a difference.
Posted by Chris Grumm at December 23, 2005 07:25 AM
Hi Chris,
Great work you're doing with your blog. We wanted to bring to your attention a Fair Trade, organic and eco-friendly store we launched last year. We are a women-owned business who believes strongly in the need to level the playing field for women around the world so we thought if we could come up with a business that would help further the organic, Fair Trade and eco movements, we might in our small way begin to raise awareness about the needs in the global community, especially women and children. We had a great holiday season because the search engines were finally identifying us but it's been a long haul and we hope to show people that it's groovy to be socially responsible and they can contribute every day of their lives by buying the finest in organic, Fair Trade or by purchasing socially responsible gifts for business or personal use.
Would love it if you would take the time to check out our website.
Many thanks,
Melanie
Posted by: melanie mitzner at January 2, 2006 07:49 AM
Dear Chris, slavery of any type is a very worthwhile cause.
A woman or child or boy in chains brings me to tears.
I reviewed some of your literature on the site and I´m sorry that it appears that many people in charge of 100´s of funds are making the same mistake as men in the USA.
The speal of how Woman are better than men , while true in many ways, will not pursuade many men. We are better than You attitudes do not assist change and in many households could cause an issue.
My view is that the root causes of slavery are
1. The perceived state of the society in non-US countres leading people to believe that life in the USA is better, the lack of spiritual intelligence and desire for material wealth fools many to look elsewehere for a better life.
2. The Primary problem is Meglomaniacs and Bullies resident in the USA that are looking for maximum profits out of anything they can.
3. The control over money can create a problem if the leaders cannot stay focused on the original reason of the cause.
Approximately only 7% of the charity funds are used to actually help someone.
The rest is giving some people a sense of power and hope to pursuade a change in the Politicies and practises of the USA. 450million in many hands is nowhere near enough to change Policy in a country like the USA.
The money would be better spent in the originating countries to support the governement efforts and/or provide safe havens of education and health for anyone who is a victim of abuse in their country afterwhich they could apply for a serious profession or live of the land where possible.
Also please be aware when I accessed your site a false USA visa application popped up and will be used to idenify targets of abuse, it could also be used to identify individuals that merit assistance in their country.
Yours sincerely,
Steve in Brazil.
Posted by: Steve Fleming at December 27, 2005 04:05 AM
