Though I’m halfway across the world from the U.S., the racism and overall bigotry is still on my doorstep, my friend’s doorstep, and my neighbors (humanity). I feel deeply for those who are discriminated against.
One thing that I do for my internship is monitor the media, and do research in relation to refugee rights, genocide, humanitarian issues and responses, governmental affairs… I receive emails from refugees daily, explaining their stories and asking for aid in some way. For a while I felt unsure of how to handle all the dark, and corrupt things going on, within the world as a whole. There are people eating plastic because they don’t have food, or being exploited and beaten for being gay, cases of people being beheaded by shrapnel, being kidnapped and trafficked, being detained for saying the wrong thing, going through years of the process of resettlement to find out that they are not allowed in the U.S. anymore. To bring up the United States (of course these things that I mentioned are not exclusive to Africa) …… The -isms, racism, ethnocentrism, sexism, classism, ableism, heterosexism, baffle me. It is an extremely upfront, intense time for a good, ugly view of those ism’s, and corruption in general, to say the very least on a large issue. Unfortunately, these issues aren’t a new thing, but they are obviously very present. The world sees what is going on in the U.S. and when talking with my colleagues we said, maybe get depressed for a little, but get active. This resonates with me. Something that helps offset the stupidity for me is engaging with, and hearing about people and organizations that do what they can to alleviate people’s sufferings, those who spread awareness, support, and love. Those who educate others, stick up for someone else, who are allies, who show kindness, who work tirelessly to combat what is happening. Talking and taking forms of action. People are going to process this all differently though, action happens in different forms. Some may not want to be involved. For whatever reasons someone may have, showing respect towards people is important. Skin color is beautiful, as is ethnicity, and however someone wants to hold faith religiously, or how they choose to hold life and give birth, what sex and gender someone expresses, and whoever you choose to love, is so amazingly beautiful. I do not say it lightly, because all of these things are incredibly precious. All the different forms, form a mosaic. Be there for those who need it, take care of yourselves, and be a role model for others. I am feeling for those who are being discriminated against, whether it’s to you directly, to those you know, or through being aware of what is happening to groups you either identify with or are being labeled as. I also will do what I can to spread the good that I can, to contribute to the overall good that exists in the world.
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Jessica -Thank you for visiting! This is my personal blog, where I write about social justice, geography, culture, and my own encounters and reflections from around the world. Categories-
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