Category: Inspirational

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH MOVEMENT TURNS TO 20TH CENTURY HUMANITARIANS FOR INSPIRATION

Los Angeles – Coinciding with the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, delegates to the Youth for Human Rights International Summit celebrated his life and the lives of other great 20th century humanitarians: Nelson Mandela, L. Ron Hubbard and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The standing room only event, held in association with the Times of India , was held at the Garden Pavilion at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International in Hollywood.

The event concluded a three-day Youth for Human Rights International Summit and Film Festival organized by Youth for Human Rights International and the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology. TV actress, Marisol Nichols, mc-ed the event, which included stirring renditions of the life work of each human rights icon interspersed with stunning musical numbers.

Kishore Kaul, a native Indian who is the founder of the Indo-American Business Promotion Council, presented the life story of Mahatma Gandhi. Mr. Kaul said, “On a global scale, Gandhi demonstrated that a man could win allegiance, ‘not merely by the cunning game of political fraud and trickery, but through the living example of a morally exalted way of life.’ He was the catalyst for three of the major revolutions of the 20th century: the revolutions against colonialism, against racism and against violence.” Gandhi founded the Natal Indian Congress to fight color prejudice. Through the Congress he launched his legendary peaceful pursuit of human rights. As Gandhi said, “You must be the change you see in the world”.

Kuldeep Singh, youth delegate of India said, “From the challenges I have faced as an Indian and a Sikh, now a resident of New York, I am grateful to be part of a tradition started by the great Mahatma Gandhi. As a delegate (Youth for Human Rights International Human Rights Summit), I have had the opportunity to meet new people from all around the world and to learn of their like experiences with human rights abuses and their solutions. We are each returning to our communities with increased determination to effectively address the injustices that plague us.”

Mmbatho Potwana, the delegate from South Africa, was presenter of the humanitarian accomplishments of Nelson Mandela. Ms. Potwana, who herself dreams of taking her place in the South African Parliament, stated, “While it is unique that Nelson Mandela became president at all, it is most notable that on 10 May 1994 he became the first democratically elected State President of South Africa. His election marked the end of apartheid and oppression for millions of South Africans.” In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Mr. Mandela says, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Fellow delegate Mohapi Mohlamonyane also expressed her thoughts on human rights – “I can’t imagine a world without rights. The thought of not having rights in our nation is like the thought of not being cared for, the thought of not going to school or the thought of not being able to speak your mind. After all, our rights do secure these things. Freedom of speech is one of my favorite rights because I am able to express myself and share my ideas and opinions on various subjects with my fellow beings. It is also my duty to listen to others when they talk and to respect their opinions even if they differ from me. As a South African youth, I feel very powerful, as I am the product of the struggle of a nation that fought to Lose Weight Exercise its human rights. I know that I can make a difference in this little corner. Like a stone thrown into a pond, I, too, can make ripples that affect the entire pond.”

The President of the Church of Scientology International, Reverend Heber C. Jentzsch presented the life of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion. His humanitarian work has served to vanquish illiteracy, drug-addiction, and failing morality for millions. Mr. Hubbard once remarked, “There are only two tests of a life well lived: Did one do as one intended? And were people glad one lived?” Millions who have benefited from his researches answer in the affirmative.

Reverend Alfreddie Johnson, founder of the World Literacy Crusade and Men Who Care, spoke eloquently to describe the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’” From winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 in Oslo Norway to his famed speech on the lawns before the White House, the immutable path of Dr. King followed directly in the footprints left by Mahatma Gandhi. “Negros of the United States following the people of India have demonstrated that non-violence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful force which makes for social transformation. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.”

The delegates were brought on stage and received standing ovation in acknowledgment of their commitment to the cause of human rights and the impact that they are making on the world through the Youth for Human Rights movement. A special visit by the South African Consulate General, the honorable Janet Ndolovu, also focused on the vital need for such work to be done. Stellar entertainment was provided by the company dancers, Broadway singer, Miles Alden, recording artists Shannon Star Roberts and A. J. Jackson, and award-winning composer/arranger/singer, Howard McCrary. The Sahala Dancers provided a touch of India in honor of Gandhi’s birthday.

Her Name Is Bangladesh
By Karishma Huda

I call Bangladesh a woman. Media perceptions, which often shape our own perceptions and realities, call Bangladesh a tragic woman. As a child she was violently raped by colonization, and as an adult brutally battered through war. She was able to secure her own independence and freedom, only to be subjected to one violent relationship after another – one with hunger, one with famine, one with natural disasters, one with political corruptness, and the list goes on and on. One might even consider her to be a bit of a whore. As a result, she has millions of children living in poverty. Bangladesh needs to be rescued. Like a child, she needs to be cuddled, fed, clothed, have her hair stroked. She is too feeble to stand on her own two feet, and if the West does not save her, she will most definitely be left to die.

But there is a fundamental problem with the way Western media perceive, and therefore depict, Bangladesh. I mean, really, which woman is this one-dimensional and can be defined so simplistically? Have Western newspapers, magazines, documentaries, television, etc. only gotten to know one side of Bangladesh’s personality? Perhaps, or maybe this is the only side of her that they wish to portray. Perhaps this is the image of Bangladesh that they consciously would like to paint in the minds of their audience. Why? If Bangladesh is a basket case that is in dire need of help, this opens up doors of opportunities for Western countries to exploit. Researchers and academics get funded to ‘learn and explain’ Bangladesh’s problems, development consultants get paid attractive salaries to go fix Bangladesh’s problems, journalists and filmmakers’ careers are thriving on showing the world Bangladesh’s problems, NGOs and international aid agencies have turned into a very lucrative business that is sustaining on Bangladesh’s problems. As long as Western countries are ‘helping’ Bangladesh, their governments and corporations have their foot firmly embedded on her. They hold the whip, and have a strong influence on her economy, politics, and resources.

Interestingly enough, it is the same pictures of Bangladesh that you see over and over – the one on the World Vision commercials, most Americans know exactly what I’m referring to. With all of the thousands of media sources there are, is it not strange that the same images and stories are constantly recycled? Floods and poverty – really, can no one find something else to write about or show? From what I understand (based on conversations I’ve had with reputable journalists), this is because only a handful of media professionals have personally gone to visit her and gather her story. All the others pick up these stories, make two phone calls to people who can confirm them and throw in some statistics (probably a big shot academic or executive of an international aid agency), and voila, a new story is born. I’m no expert, but I get the impression that the objective is to maintain the status quo by putting in the least amount of effort. So there you have it – you are getting to know Bangladesh through the eyes of people who have never even met her themselves.

But this is not the worst of the problems. After all, who really cares what Americans and the British think of Bangladesh anyway? And in all fairness, Western countries have contributed to the steady poverty reduction in Bangladesh. More of her children are being fed. The conundrum lies in the way that Western media perceptions have drastically affected the way that Bangladesh views herself. She has learned to believe that she is weak. She has grown dependant on foreign aid, and she has taken on the identity of a pauper. She plays on her image as a tragic woman to pull at the heartstrings of Westerners as she holds out her palm. And it works.

But she and her children know well that her identity is much more complex than that. Bangladesh is not tragic and one-dimensional. She is as much about poverty and floods as America is about freedom fries and baseball. Reducing her identity to that is a disgrace, and the media’s ability to do so in the minds of millions of individuals is dreadfully frightening. Her reality is multi-faceted, and the various intricacies weaved through her make her fascinating. Her children are not dying, they are surviving. Among the constraints that they face they laugh, they play, they are creative beyond imagination, they live, they thrive. She has so many wonderful stories. Perhaps the current generation of Bangladeshis living in the West, such as myself, should take the responsibility of sharing them with you, so you can get a glimpse at who she really is: a beautiful, enduring, loving, passionate woman who will leave you inspired.

*This short essay was inspired by a fantastic talk given at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex by BBC journalist/filmmaker Esther Armah about her upcoming book “Can I Be Me?” regarding media perceptions of Africa.