Peacekeeper Truth Serum Blog

Hey PeaceKeepers!

Some of my coworkers turned me on to the website KIVA yesterday, and I just had to share. KIVA is a website that works to match up donors with budding entrepreneurs who need loans to help with business expansion/startup. This is microfinancing in its finest, folks. The KIVA website allows you, the do-gooder humanitarian that you are, to give money to a person, not just an organization. KIVA has profiles of all their entrepreneurs, with photos, personal history as well as what they want to use the money for. This is an incredible chance for people to flex their philanthropist fingers and give people in need a head start on building a better future for themselves and their families. What I like about KIVA is that they really work hard to be transparent, so you know where your money goes. Once you pick an entrepreneur, you receive web updates as to how he or she is using your funds and get updates on the loan repayments.

According to the KIVA website, a grand total of $37,281,060 of loans have been made through KIVA, and 77.20% of the KIVA loans are made to women entrepreneurs, which is fabulous. The incredibly low default rate makes KIVA a safe investment for both you and the recipient. Click here for the company background and here for other ways you can help KIVA continue doing the good work.

Peace,
Alice

One of the biggest problems the world has faced in the twentieth and twenty-first century is that posed by HIV/AIDS. In 2006 it was estimated that 40 million people were living with AIDS globally, and this number will have only increased with time. Dr. Gao Yaojie has been doing her part to combat the AIDS epidemic in China, specifically the Henan province.  She’s been honored by the United Nation and the recipient of the Jonathan Mann Award for Health and Human Rights and the Global Leadership Award from Vital Voices for her endeavors. Stemming from the practice of using tainted blood collected from illegal clinics for surgeries and the lack of education in rural agriculture-based villages, HIV/AIDS has had a devastating effects. After witnessing her first AIDS patient die from a bad blood transfusion in 1996, Dr. Gao Yaojie wrote up an AIDS prevention pamphlet and distributed 12,000 of these pamphlets to five busy bus stations. This was just the beginning of her campaign to educate villagers about the truth of AIDS and how the disease is spread. Along with educational literature, Dr. Gao travelled to give out medicine to ease the suffering of AIDS patients and send money out of pocket to patients who suffered from “strange disease” or the “nameless fever” (two common names attributed to patients suffering from AIDS related complications).

While those suffering from the disease and their families greet Dr. Gao with open arms, the stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS lead to hostile reactions to her attempts to distribute her information. In February of 2007, Dr. Gao Yaojie was placed under house arrest by the Henan province officials who believe her work is harmful to the province’s economy. Her current focus has been on AIDS orphans (healthy children whose parents have died from AIDS) by sending money to local elementary schools to be used to bring back children who have dropped out to support their families after one or both parents have died. Dr. Gao’s house arrest illustrates yet again the tendency of the Chinese government to approach important issues with the “if I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist” attitude. Dr. Gao’s advocacy work has cost her personal mobility as well as financial comfort in her old age (she’s 81 years old!), but she knows the value of her work: “I certainly know that I am just flipping spoonfuls of water onto a roaring fire.  What I really hope I am doing is moving people with conscience will sympathize with people living with AIDS, will treat them well.  The orphans, especially, need help.” Click here to read more of Dr. Gao Yaojie’s personal writing.

Peace,

Alice

One thing I love about working in restaurants is that they are an excellent place to people-watch. As a server, you fade into the background (unless someone wants something) and it’s easy to float from table to table and observe people in their element. Last night a family came in with twin infants came in for dinner on a quiet Sunday evening. These were remarkably well behaved babies (if babies can be well behaved, I suppose happy babies is a better description), and were admired by all in the restaurant.  But as babies often will, these two got hungry and decided to let everyone know. It was interesting for me to note how the restaurant reacted to the mother breastfeeding the two infants (under a wide shall). I overheard one of my tables criticizing her for “exposing herself” and should “bottle feed when in public.” I found this comment a bit out of place; this mother was being very modest and being respectful to other guests by taking the kids outside when they started caterwauling. The negative reactions to breastfeeding, especially from a fellow female, was surprising. Breastfeeding is incredibly important for a child’s proper development. In Indonesia alone, the World Food Programme estimates that 13 million children are malnourished: many of these children face malnutrition because of poor breastfeeding practices within the nation. Most mothers stop breastfeeding their children after two months in favor of formula with the reasoning that formula milk is more nutritious than breast milk. Anne Vincent of UNICEF has said that up to 30,000 children could be saved from malnutrition if they were breastfed exclusively for the first six months. Breast milk has proteins specifically designed for infant digestion and allows the mother to pass on antibodies to her child to lessen infant illnesses. In places like Indonesia where feeding practices depend greatly on harvests, breastfeeding can mean all the difference on surviving infancy. You can read more about UNICEF’s stance on exclusive breastfeeding here.

Peace,

Alice

I’m sure that everyone is sick of the subject, but lately the state of the U.S. economy has been on my mind. Even while I was in Belgium for this beginning of the year, I’ve been feeling the dollar woes. By the time I left, the Euro was worth up to $1.60. I came back to New York jobless and faced with the horrifying reality of paying my own rent (being a grown-up is expensive, who knew?). After about three weeks of searching on Craigslist and MonsterTrak, I found myself with two jobs, one here at PeaceKeeper and another waiting table in Chelsea. After being hired on the spot at the restaurant (yes, I am this witty and engaging in person), I realized that I needed to snag a few more black articles of clothing for the uniform; no one likes a smelly server, charisma or no. Here I was faced with a dilemma: do I buy clothing that is guaranteed sweatshop free, or do I save money at a store that might not ensure healthy working conditions for employees? Stores like American Apparel that are vertically integrated (that means that American Apparel owns and controls every aspect of the manufacturing process from making fabric to selling finished products), where the average employee earns $25,000 per year (roughly $12 per hour). In comparison, I learned in an article from Time Magazine that H&M is able to keep prices down by using factories in Third World nations (they don’t own any manufacturing factories). To put things in perspective, a plain black tee-shirt from American Apparel is $16 while a similar tee-shirt at H&M is $5.90.  After taking a class on political economy, I have enough knowledge on economics to understand that the incredibly simple principle that everyone benefits from trade is completely overshadowed by the problems of politics. This conundrum pops up everywhere. On my way to work: do I splurge for fair trade coffee or save by buying street-vendor coffee at half the price? Do I buy a Coke product even with the reports claiming human rights abuses? Do I watch the Olympics? The list goes on. As a young and budding humanitarian, I think it’s incredibly important to work through all mediums, from volunteering directly to shopping with a conscience. But I was in a tough spot, money was tight and a rent check looming in the future. I’ve been trying everything to save money by cooking for myself and staying within a budget, limiting unnecessary purchases, etc. However, I think that denying yourself simple pleasures like an ice cold mocha-minty-coffee beverage with a double serving of whipped cream or a new pair of chic sandals only leads to stress, which should be avoided at all cost. Did you know that it’s been estimated that stress is related to 99% of illnesses? When it comes to clothing, my rationale (I suppose rationalization is a more apt term…) is that I aim to wear the article of clothing one time for every dollar that I spend. With today’s economy, it’s hard for people to spend more money when alternative options are much cheaper. This may just seem like more rationalization, but at the time I didn’t spend much time thinking about it. It wasn’t until I had a conversation with one of my fellow servers at our restaurant about the bizarre advertising campaign for American Apparel did I realize my failure to practice what I preached when I went for the cheaper goods. So now on my way home from work, it’s a bar of Green & Blacks that makes it way into my purse because it doesn’t get much better than fair trade chocolate. What do you think, PeaceKeepers? How important is buying Fair Trade, especially on a budget?

Peace,

Alice

Hello PeaceKeepers!

We had an interesting discussion in our office yesterday that I thought I’d share with you. Our two interns that work with fulfilling orders and sending out packages having a conversation about fashion. For the most part I was engrossed in my work, but a snippet of dialogue caught my attention: “You have to watch how you dress, otherwise you’re just asking for trouble.”  A curious statement, especially coming from a young feminist. My sophomore year in college (I’m currently a senior) I was lucky enough to be cast in my university’s production of the Vagina Monologues (at a Jesuit university, it’s a wonder that we could put the show on at all, but that’s a whole other story). One of the most popular monologues on campus is entitled ‘Short Skirt’. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the show (PeaceKeeper does work with V-Day with our lip gloss), the monologue is filled with lines such as My short skirt is not begging for it, My short skirt is my defiance and My short skirt is a liberation flag in the women’s army; so on and so forth.

As a young woman, the attention you can receive when you walk down the street in a short skirt or a low cut top can usually be taken in one of two ways: positive, as in, “damn right I’m sexy” or “how offensive, I’m being objectified!” From my personal experience, this depends on how safe you feel in your environment. For example, when a car honks at me when I go jogging, I rarely think anything of it and continue on my merry (albeit sweaty) way. On the other hand, when confronted directly with “admirers” (which is putting it nicely), it can be quite alarming. For the spring semester of my junior year I chose to study abroad in Brussels, Belgium. I had been to continental Europe before, and I had absolutely no safety qualms about living in the “capitol of Europe” for five months (my parents were relieved after I decided against western Africa). When I arrived in Brussels, I was quite surprised to see a lecture on female safety within the city. A female American ex-pat living in Belgium told us quite plainly: travel with a male companion or feel the consequences. My inner feminist roared. After living in New York City (the BRONX, in particular) for the past three years, I felt that this information was of no use to me, I could manage on my own.

As I soon found out, male/female relations are quite different in European cities than in the United States.  The first time I realized the wisdom in her words was on a souvenir outing where a man followed me into the store while I was looking for postcards and tried to kiss me. I yelled at him in French and told him something I wouldn’t repeat in front of my grandmother (if you catch my drift), but this only seemed to egg him on. Only after I pulled out my cell phone did he leave. What astounded me the most was the nonplussed expression on the (male) store owner’s face, apparently this was a part of daily transactions. After similar occurrences, all mild in nature, I took to hanging out with my closest friends, two of which happened to be of the male persuasion (both were at least 6 feet tall and burly in stature), and it was if I and my female friends had dropped off the radar of Belgian men (we were “spoken for,” I guess). I think the most fearful experience I had was when my best friend Zoe and I were going out to the bars downtown without our two male friends who were recovering from a trip to Amsterdam. We were going to one of our favorite bars which was located in a small alleyway near the Grand Place. As we were turning into the alley, a man grabbed my arm and attempted to take me elsewhere. I still had my wits about me and was quickly freed from his grasp and running in the opposite direction; the next morning I had a purple and blue reminder on my upper arm from the encounter. I took the bruise as a lesson learned. As much as it hurts to swallow some pride, I realized the wisdom in a wiser woman’s words: ensuring safety is not a sacrifice of principles.  In the same way the Vagina Monologues teaches women [and men] that wearing clothing that is revealing isn’t “asking for it” when its intent is to celebrate the female form. These lessons come with time and experience, and I’m sure our interns will to celebrate femininity without sacrificing safety, given time.

Peace,

Alice

Although the New York City Subway system is a frequent cause of stress in my life, it also gives me some time for reflection. On my way to work this morning, I read about Esmin Green, whose death in the waiting room of a NYC hospital caught on film has gained much publicity in the paper and it got me thinking about the problem of apathy. I was first introduced to the subject by my high school English teacher in the tenth grade. We had spent the semester learning about genocide (a difficult subject to broach at the age of sixteen). Our teacher closed the semester with an article about Kitty Genovese, and I must say it had a stunning effect on a class of middle-class teenagers (a famously self-absorbed and sulky age group). For most of us, apathy was not caring whether you went to the movies or bowling on a Saturday night, not something that resulted in a young woman’s death. Martin Gansberg’s depiction of the events of that 1964 night was inflammatory to our young minds; how could any one with a functioning conscience not do anything to help this dying woman? Being the curious teen that I was, I did some research on my own and found out that some of Gansberg’s statements were exaggerated; there were only three eye witnesses to the stabbings along with a few other factors that lessen the blame  placed on the Kew Gardens community. Exaggerations aside, the Kitty Genovese case illustrates how easy it is to pass the responsibility onto someone else.

I think the scariest aspect of the Esmin Green case is the fact that it occurred in a hospital. This woman went to the hospital in search of assistance and found none. While I feel that those in charge of monitoring patients like Esmin Green should be held accountable for their neglect, I think it is important to remember that this incident points to one of the larger problems of our healthcare systems here in the United States. Hospitals are understaffed and underfunded and have to work with the recently slashed Medicare benefits. The consul general of Jamaica said that “she will not die in vain,” promising that her death will ensure changes and prevent something like this from happening again.

The ‘CNN Effect’ has been widely studied; events that are picked up by the media (think Elizabeth Smart or Darfur) receive more donations, manpower, etc than events and causes that aren’t nationally broadcast. While this is a good thing for the humanitarian community in the sense that attention brings aid to those in need. In turn, this also means that the needs of those who aren’t picked by the media don’t have access to resources that could save lives. I find it hard pressed to accept an argument of ignorance when the internet gives us access to remote corners of the world. I feel that it’s become a habit for some people to see the international news sections as fiction—some updates from a far-away place that doesn’t affect our daily lives. Even though sitting in an office in front of a computer two days a week doesn’t appear to be humanitarian action, spreading information empowers people to take their own path to finding solutions. Advocacy’s first obstacle is overcoming apathy.
Peace,
Alice

I’ve found my new role model. Described as the “most important woman in Afghanistan,” as well as the bravest, Malalai Joya is representing the voice of progress in the Afghan parliament. Elected in 2003, Joya has put her own life in danger by denouncing the presence of warlords and war criminals in the Afghan government in 2003. Her famous two minute speech (see below) resulted in insults and death threats from her fellow politicians; now she travels with armed guards at all times and has survived four assassination attempts. With regards to these assassination attempts she said: “They will kill me but they will not kill my voice, because it will be the voice of all Afghan women. You can cut the flower, but you cannot stop the coming of spring.”  Just reading that gives me goosebumps. After watching a clip of the speech, even with the linguistic barriers, her passion and outrage is self-evident: the implications of her words are also evident in the crowd’s reaction.  Her opinions and actions have caused her suspension from the parliament in 2007 which is under appeal. Since her suspension, she continues to work with a nongovernmental organization called the Organisation for Promoting Afghan Women’s Capabilities; “How can a country improve when 50% of its population are silenced? It is like a bird with only one wing.” What’s more astounding is that Malalai Joya is only 27 years old, and has so much more to give to the world. The film A Woman Among Warlords was released in 2007, and I am eagerly anticipating her autobiography that is currently in the works. Click here for a video interview with some clips of Malalai Joya speaking.

Peace,

Alice