Wheeling and dealing;

This is the deal; When I encounter injustice, I have a real hard time, not welling up.. It's about the only thing, that has that effect on me! Doesn't matter if it's in public places or not, I can feel the tears bursting through like springtime, when the levee brakes. 

Naught matter if it's injustice done to me directly or to the children denied of a future in a war torn country like Gaza/West bank. When I hear the wails of fear, of a boy, being seized by the DR Congo army, looking for new recruits for their army of boy-soldiers. Or when I talk to a Burkha clad woman, born in a country, where women are sick from lack of sunshine on their skin. I cry, when men of faith, dynamites ancient Buddhas or rob the national library.The tears will come, when my grandmother tells me, how life is lived, when you have to ask for your husbands permission for a passport. Listening to women with death in their eyes, while recounting their nightmares of Darfurs Janjaweed raping and killing their daughters and then raping great-grandmother too.

This great lotto ticket; The wheel of fortune in life, which decides where you're born and under which circumstances.... It's got nothing to do with justice or what you're "entitled" to!

By the way;

 People in this country, Denmark, are really good at being "entitled" to just about everything; From welfare to 42" HD ready TV flat screens....

 The two sentences you hear the most is; "It's just not fair!/ I have the right!"

Well, It's just not fair, that Obama has given a fantasyllion to Wall Street, when I haven't got a dime, because I borrowed too much and are paying 500000000% in interests! - But then again it's not fair that millions of children are working their childhood away to keep hunger down!  - It's all about keeping your perspectives, me thinks.....?

 - Even if it does make me howl of the injustice of it all, when I see that a guy like MC Hammer gets his own reality show...???!!! Thus Paying off his mortgage and then some!

My problem these days are of being thoroughly misunderstood by some people & to top it off, having a very sporadic Internet-connection, which won't let me use my "right of free speech" exactly when I want to!                 

  And I will not stand for, having to wait for my

 instant gratification !!! 

Is that all??  Shame on me - uaaaaargh!;

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"The Sons of Adam are members of a whole

Each is created from a greater, single soul

Whenever Fate to one of them brings pain

No other can without distress remain

You who for others' torment do not care

Cannont the name of 'Human' rightly bear"

Sa'di [1184 - 1291]

Be heard - Sign on -

Avaaz.org  - Gaza Petition

And while you're at it; Take a look on the ensuing chaos in Zimbabwe...  Caused by an old warhorse, who's not ready to either face the democratic music or step down and relinquish the power reigns!!

Or you can take action against the bloodshed in DR Congo.... Which is yet another war riddled country, where the civilians pay the price for the ongoing power struggle of different warlords  and their infinite, cynical greed with no regard for the suffering of the starving masses violently displaced from their homes.

" ..... That as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself;"

Post Title link to Full Speech transcript in NY Times

-Yes, these maps just to show how the Israeli state have pushed the Palestinians out to sea, and slowly eaten away the land of the people who lived here, before them! - The lot where the Tel Aviv University is now situated, was Palestinian in 1967!!!

Okay I'll admit it, I sort of got sidetracked there for a day or two... But Obama has settled in at the Oval and has already talked to more Middle-East leaders in his first day than his predessesor in his first 4 years! - George Mitchell has just been appointed special envoy to the Middle East - Richard Holbrooke to Afghanistan/Pakistan- Good men (More or less) and experienced! "The House of  Pain & Shame" will be wrapped up before the end of the year and the saleries of his staff is frozen stiff... Apparently a good boring, solid change has come and Jon Stewart will have to work for a living, now that it'll be much more difficult to spin a yarn.... I mean Bush and his croonies, made satire sooooo easy!

But, while I've had my eyes averted for 48hrs; 

The Israeli Defence Forces (Only a true hypocrite could dream up that name!) has left Gaza, but have tighten an ironclad ring around this poor strip of land. And in their typical style; They now continue to do, what even I will start to call Ethnic Cleansing! - The very few reporters, who's been let inside of Gaza, reports of whole neighbourhoods destroyed down to the very last stone.. In the few buildings standing, graffiti drawings of toombstones with" R.I.P The Arabs  1946 -2009" written next to it, says it all..

                                          

 Horrific stories of Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity no longer surprises us.. The "Charm school offensive" - Israeli envoys have been send out to "explain" -  all over Europe-does not come as a chock neither.... But the fact that the Israeli will only let medicine and food into a bleeding and dying Gaza with scores of deeply traumatised children/people is... !!!! Both National and International foreign Aid workers and medical staff are now worked down to the bone, exhausted and in dire need of help and replacement!

The Israeli blockade has now lasted for 18 months and this means (among other things) that also all building material is banned/not allowed across the borders..!  The blockade is still on... !!!  2 thirds of Gaza is reduced to rubble and at least 50.000 people are homeless, - the schools where many have taken refuge will open on saturday and then what? Where will all these people, old and young go? They have nothing at all....! People are going through the rubble, crying, trying to find personal belongings, a family photo, a birth certificate, a dress, the baby's favorite toy - all the little and big things, which defines us and proves to us, who we are! To rescue every bitty thing, which can be salvaged and reused... Bodies are still barried under concrete and dust starting to smell, the sewers are destroyed, clean water or electricity is nowhere to be found ....... The aftermath of war made so much more tragically heartbreaking by the inhumane treatment of the Israeli Gov.! The Zionists can no longer be disguised as " Self defence and Only attacking members of Hamas "

In the DR Congo , The Rwandian army has crossed the border to go after the insurgents and have arrested their former ally Laurent Nkunda, and here like anywhere else... Well, it's the civilians who pay by endless suffering... Civilwar is still raging and this incredible rich country is on its knees..

In Burma/Myanmar the Generals have not eased their suffocating grip on their own people, human rights are deteriorating by the day and it has been quite a while since we heard from Aung San Suu Kyi ...  The fate of the Karen tribe and other tribes of Burma is uncertain as they are driven from their homes, land and persecuted. 

In Tibet.. Life is just as unbearable as it was 6 months ago.... But we'll let China get away with murder! And missed the opportunity for real pressure with the Olympics...

In China two unlucky guys will pay - with their lives, for the crime of hundreds in the Milk/melanin affair... Another show trial is being televised for our " Western pleasure" 

"......  - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist......."

Barack Hussein Obama's inauguration speech Jan.20.2009 - 

..............- So be it!! - says me!

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PS. I have been nominated for a "Creative Blogger award" by Labeet and I'm so very thankful (and let's face it; extremely flattered too!) The rules are so, that I' ll have to pass on the torch to 4-5 others, that I admire... I have this post in the draft.. So even though it looks a bit arrogant - right now..! This is just to say; I'm in the process of redeeming myself!

Exodus on the roads of Goma, DR Congo.

My life is no bed of roses... these days...!  Sat with good friends and whined about it, for a couple of hours, this afternoon. Bought some of the favorite ice cream on the way home, made some food and turned on the news...

 - But shame on me; The report from DR Congo, made my heart and soul weep. Thousands of children, women and old men, squashed against the gates of the UN Aid center...  Mothers subjecting their children to the guards, who're beat the people back with sticks until finally the crowd surge thru, using their force of desperation as ramrod. Inside the gates, there will only be High energy-biscuits to be eaten and only for the children. But for some, this will their first "food" since tuesday! Aid-workers estimate; that a least 100.000 people has been displaced during the last week!! - About a million has been displaced since the war broke out! Millions raped and killed. The numbers are staggering and the waves of humanity on the roads are heartbreaking.

What is the world leaders waiting for?  How can we let this happen, in this year of the lord 2008? DR Congo is mineral wise, an extremely wealthy country, but alas no oil.... Is that it? Has the lesson from the Rwanda genocide, not sunk in? And this in fact, seems to be an overspill, from that exact same "incident" - 

The Global-community had a lot of self searching about the catastrophic delays of intervention in the Serbian/Bosnia and the Hutu/ Tutsi ethnic cleansing. Well, now is the possibility of going in before the disaster goes of the rails. There's already some 17.000 UN peacekeepers in the Congo. But they have so far, failed in protecting civilians  

The devil at the crossroads...

The Congo is bleeding to death... And the world is slowly but finally taking notice of the atrocities, which has been going on for decades...! A country; Where the only safe act for civilians; would be fleeing to the forrest/bush - In the Congo civilization has come full circle; we came down from the trees and now we're going back there... Leaving all the signs of prosperity and evolution behind, i.e. huts, food, pots and pans and all personal belongings, because that will only attract soldiers -Government forces and rebels alike. Soldiers on a rampage, burning, raping, torturing, stealing and murdering everything in their way!! Sexual assault being a key weapon in this monstrous war!

Human Right Watch has reports of soldiers raping girls only 3 years old! HRW actually asked for the arrest of Laurent Nkunda for war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2006! But we are now nearing the end of 2008 and the international community has still not done anything! The 17.000 UN peacekeepers are stretched to a breaking point ... As peacekeepers, they don't stand a chance against the rebel forces.

Some misc. numbers; Some 3.4 million deaths! Approx. 1 million people displaced. Tens of thousands raped. An unknown number of child soldiers.........

If you, like me, don't know the first thing about the Congo situation; Then Tim Butcher's book "Blood River" is a good place to start... And Barbara Kingsolver " The Poisonwood Bible"

There's a million reports and pieces written on DR Congo, some are good, some are outstanding and most are most informative - They're all pretty easy to find on the internet.

(If you can read Danish, you can Tag; DR Congo on my site, and you'll find a post, with a lot more info on the subject- written in spring)

Afrika's knuste hjerte; DR Congo

Nu er det jo ikke meget, man hører om DR Congo. Problemerne har ellers hobet sig op lige siden belgierne forlod landet over hals og hoved i 1959. I slut '90'erne var der endnu en ødelæggende borgerkrig, hvor mange hundrede tusinde blev dræbt og befolkningen lever i daglig frygt dagen i dag på trods af FN's tilstedeværelse eller måske netop på grund af ??

Det er ellers et sagnomspunden sted. Det er landet med den mægtige Congo flod, hvor Joseph Conrad's berømte barbariske og griske figur; Kurtz, mødte sin mørke skæbne. Landet hvor den opportunistiske engelske journalist; Henry Stanley, drog over stok og sten med 200 sorte bærere fra Zanzibar, for at lede efter og senere finde datidens store helt; Doc Livingstone. Stanley kom senere tilbage til Afrika, først for at kortlægge Congo floden [ med succés!] og senere igen som udsending for Belgiens Kong Leopold, nu som 'Superstar Stanley'! Her hjalp han kong Leopold med at tvinge Congo i knæ og den Belgiske konge kunne nu se ud over det ufattelige rige land, som sin helt private og personlige ejendom. Sammen udnyttede de landets enorme rigdomme; Både gummi, kobber, diamanter, elfenben, kobolt, uran og andre mineraler galore og selvfølgelig ikke minst rå menneskekraft. Sådan startede Europas eventyr i Afrika sent i 1870'erne og lagde dermed en go' økonomisk bund for Europas rigdom og det sorte Afrikas fattigdom. Overalt i Afrika blev der i den kristne kolonialismes navn begået nedværdigende, ydmygende uhyrligheder, men alle historikere er enige om; at den menneskelige ondskab nåede ufattelige højder i Belgisk Congo og påførte dermed befolkningen lidelser af et omfang, som er udenfor forstandens rækkevidde.

- Dette er selvfølgelig den korte og simple version. Men den udefra kommende magt, det være sig handels eller krigs-magt, har siden Congo/Zaire's historie er blevet nedskrevet, altid forstået at udnytte situationen til egen fordel. Det er som altid civilbefolkningen som betaler gildet... Og 'festen' kører åbenbart stadig; Nu med FN soldater som agenter, for den helt specielle form for 'Spøg og Skæmt', som altid har været landets skæbne. Det er ikke længere den hvide mand, som har ansvaret for de uhyrligheder der foregår, men det kan være hip som hap... For det er stadig kvinder og børn som lægger krop til.

FN skal stå som vores garant for hæderlighed og som er sat til at dæmpe vores dårlige samvittighed, når vi sidder i sofaen og rækker ud efter aftenkaffen, imens billederne af det seneste mennskelige drama flimrer forbi.

At FN har vokset sig ud af den hæderlige og pålidelige habit og nu skjuler sine fiaskoer, det er jo ikke en nyhed... Det har foregået i årevis! Hvis en højstående ansat dummer sig i ét land, så bliver han bare forflyttet til et nyt. Det er ligesom i Internationale Røde Kors og andre store humanitære organisationer, næsten umuligt at blive fyret hvis du først er kommet op på lederplan. Du skal virkelig jokke i spinaten såsom; At dukke op stangbarcardi og bønneskæv, til et møde på HQ, - for at blive vippet af pinden... Det er ikke mig, som opfinder disse historier, det er alm. kendt indenfor murene. FN's sidste [ kendte] forsøg på at skjule " de dårlige historier" er bare endnu et eksempel på et coverup, der er blevet besværliggjort af tidens moderne kommunikations midler. - Og et bevis på, at vi udefrakommende endnu ikke er færdige med at udnytte Congo og Afrika til egen vinding.

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Kan kun anbefale; Tim Butcher: "Blood river" hvis man vil vide mere om DR Congo idag og lidt af landets blodige historie. Det er 'rejsebog'; en journalist, som prøver at gøre Stanley's rejse efter i 2004- Hvilket viser sig at være, næsten, en umulighed. Tim Butcher vil gerne fortælle alt det han ved om landet og han ved rigtigt meget og for at flette Congos historie ind i den dagbogsagtige fortælling, er der til tider og lidt for tit en sammen kædning ala; "Jeg stod på dækket og tænkte på verdens skiftende holdning til Congo"- hvorefter der kommer et længere præcist og historisk indsigtsfuldt afsnit om netop dette. Det virker lidt gymnasie rapport-agtigt, ikke rigtigt at kunne kæde det hele sammen til en homogen masse. Men han bider også over en stor del af kagen.... Så det er en bog man kun bliver klogere af, hvis man kan bære over med et par små journalistiske ufuldkommenheder!

En anden god bog om Congo: Barbara Kingsolver; "The Poisonwood Bible". Den er et skønlitterært lille mesterværk; Om en amerikansk missionærs kone og 4 opvakte døtre i 1959. Et eksplosivt tidpunkt i historien, lige før selvstændigheden i '60 og Patrice Lumumba's korte regeringsperiode og attentatet [Med CIA's hjælp] der slog ham ihjel. Med Lumumba's død brast Afrikas mørke hjerte og dermed også håbet om en demokratisk, fredelig fremtid.

- Skal nok afholde mig fra, at komme ind på alle de lignende kapitler i verdenhistorien, forsøgt omskrevet/kontrolleret af USA's udenlandske efterretnings monster; CIA; Med borgerkrige, regimers jerngreb, civiles død og landes totale ødelæggelse som følge deraf!