Seeds of love for Rwanda
This is what declared General Romeo Dallaire, : (..) As the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in
This morning as I was having a break, I started surfing in blogland and read Corine's message which then led me to Maryam in Marrakesh who's just come back from Rwanda with an extremely appalling story.
Please read it. And..help if you can…
Of course...we all have our worries and the world is constantly in turmoil here and there. Like you, certainly…I feel so helpless but if I can help a bit, if I can do my little contribution then maybe there will be a tiny ray of light somewhere.
What we also need to know is that before Rwanda was colonized by Germans then Belgians, Hutus and Tutsi were not antagonized ethnics and represented two social-economic groups. A Hutu could easily be integrated in the Tutsi group and vice versa.
They formed only one ethnic, called Banyarwanda, speaking the same language, sharing the same religion, the same customs and living on the same land. In the 30’s, the Belgian colonizers declared the Tutsi were of a superior race, considering them as “white negroes” and an identity card was established stating the Hutu or Tutsi ethnic.
At the end of the 50's, the Tutsi started to rebel themselves and claimed independence for their country. The catholic church then showed its preference to the Hutus and declared their racial supremacy hence creating tensions between the two ethnics. The question is : what is the actual responsibility of colonialism in that case ?
The question is : why in regards of powerful nations, some lives count more than others ?
The question is : can we keep our mouth and eyes shut ?
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Please, pay a visit to Maryam and to Corine today. Maryam would like to raise some money in aid to a Rwandan NGO called AVEGA which helps widows of the genocide. It can be done through a paypal account but she doesn't have one, living in Morrocco. So Corine is collecting the money through her paypal account. You can give whatever you want : 25$, 50$....I was about to spend 100$ on a new jacket this saturday. I'm only too glad to give this money to someone who really needs it....
Comments
Thank you, Lala, for helping spread the word about this important organization!
hear no evil see no evil speak no evil
human life has less value now than ever.
I pray for Peace. And unity.
Can you believe maryam is actually hearing those accounts directly from the mouth of women who lived through the genocide? I don't know how she can function through this, and my heart bleeds for the horror victimized human beings have to suffer throughout our very imperfect planet.
I will send you a paypal bill to your e-mail address, I will then gather the funds and wait for Maryam to tell me where to send.
Again, thank you for sending the love.
hugs,
corine
I came here and then rushed right over to read Maryam's story. Thank you for telling us about this and I would be happy to add my donation to yours...thank you.
I admire your acknowledgement of this story, and I'll have to visit Corine. What a tragedy to endure. Maryam has eloquently handled such a horrific tale, and to meet these survivors head on and hear their stories, well, I imagine she'll have a few sleepless nights in her future. But some good may come, she is a catalyst for change. Her blog is a powerful medium for portraying such an important message. Her thousands of readers should step up to the challenge of raising money, whether they have a blog or not. After all, we are like minded people, that is what draws us to each other day in and out. We read because we care. Usually to escape, from our ordinary lives, as with Maryam's usual content of boutique hoteling in Marrakesh...such a beautiful escape. But to hear such blunt truths, from someone who delivers gorgeousness everyday...it makes me want to do something constructive. To burst out of my delicate little bubble and stop my bitching and do something!!!
We have one chance to make a difference. The choice to do something, or not.
I'm with you, I'm choosing to do something.
Sending you love sweet Lala, you are an inspiration!!!!
xoxo
Thank you!
i'm new here and came over via your comment on my post - thanks! and thank you for sharing this. i'll head over to your links to learn more. its such a pleasure to meet you!
cheers,
~odessa
watching Hotel Rwanda or learning about such violence and hatred is deeply heartbreaking. in your previous post you mentioned how you may be uninspired because people are looking for glitz for christmas cards. your messages share peace and beauty and love! please continue to be inspired. we really need it all. we need to be one and support ones who are physically trying to bring peace, though the doing is a big one, and we also need ones with good hearts and good messages to keep the light shining so we can know which way to go... as you so often do.
you have encouraged me to rethink my fears and feelings of not being able to help, to knowing that help is possible, and to ask myself what can i do and do it.
sending you good thoughts.
(i'll be in touch soon... ok. just want to digest what you have shared and read the links you suggested.)
besos