In my work I receive daily reports from people who are either in Haiti working on the recovery effort or who have just returned from consultations, assessments, and interviews in the country.  Across the board the reports are the same: “What we saw was horrible.  It rained every night and people still don’t have adequate shelter; you know that a lot more people are going to die and many more will suffer unnecessarily,” from one colleague.  Yet according to CBS News, “enough aid has been raised to give each displaced family [in Haiti] a check for $37,000.”  Given the outpouring of resources, why are Haitians continuing to suffer?

Despite the large amount of money pledged — over 50 percent of Americans donated to the Haiti relief effort — the efficiency of the effort has been weakened by structural problems, bureaucratic inactivity, the scope of the disaster, and other interests trying to keep their privileges while giving the appearance of change.  For example, the American Red Cross is holding more almost 70 percent of the money it raised for Haiti, which is unacceptable when Haitians are in dire need of food, shelter, and medical care.

Haiti’s 1.5 million displaced people, now living in over 1,300 camps, need basic resources now.

The lack of security in housing, food, medical care, and sanitation has placed those who are displaced, particularly women and girls, at even further risk.  Incidences of rape and violence against women have increased in both numbers and severity.  The increased occurrences of rape and other Gender Based Violence (GBV) are directly related to the current situation facing internally displaced people (IDPs).  The situation is made worse by the failure of the Haitian government and the international community to adhere to international principles for IDP care.

If the problems identified in the first six months, including corruption, human rights violations, and waste, are left uncorrected, they will continue on into the reconstruction period.

Here in the United States almost 50 percent of all households have contributed more than $1 billion dollars to U.S. charities for immediate relief from the effects of Haiti’s devastating 12 January 2010 earthquake.  Nations around the world have pledged more than $5 billion dollars for Haiti’s 18 month reconstruction period.

It is time for the Congress to begin to ask the question:  Where is the Money?

Congress’ oversight responsibility is critical to ensuring transparency and accountability during the reconstruction period.  Congressional hearings provide an opportunity to ensure that Members and the public have complete information regarding U.S. efforts on the ground, which is critical. During this August recess period members of congress will be campaigning in their home districts.  Use your voice, ask them if they plan to use their oversight authority to investigate the small amounts of money actually reaching Haiti’s shore.

The situation in Haiti is serious and warrants congressional query in order to both generate findings and to recommend changes to policy and procedures.   Americans have pledged money to the relief effort; we need to demand to know where that money is being spent, and that it will be spent on Haitians that require food, shelter and medical care.

Congressional oversight is needed, and it is needed now!

An urgent message from TransAfrica Forum:

“The country does not have the infrastructure or resources to deal with a crisis of this magnitude, the U.S. and the international community must provide immediate medical, humanitarian, search and rescue, and additional supports as requested by the government of Haiti,”    –Nicole Lee, President of TransAfrica Forum.

Click here to find out how you can support Haitian earthquake victims.

January 12, 2010 the island nation of Haiti, was slammed by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, its most severe in 200 years.  The epicenter of the quake was approximately 10 miles south of Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital and home to almost 2 million people.  The city, including communications and transport infrastructure, is said to have suffered “massive damage.”  According to Associated Press, the capital is largely destroyed, with widespread loss of life predicted.

“The people of Haiti are only just beginning to recover from a decade of economic, environmental, and political shocks.  The global recession, increases in international food prices, and natural disasters, including four hurricanes in 2008, have undermined the country’s already weak infrastructure and increased poverty in a country already the poorest in the western hemisphere,” according to Nicole Lee, President of TransAfrica Forum.  “The country does not have the infrastructure or resources to deal with a crisis of this magnitude, the U.S. and the international community must provide immediate medical, humanitarian, search and rescue, and additional supports as requested by the government of Haiti,” Lee continued.

According to Haitian Ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, “the quake has crippled the country.”  Aid agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, are meeting to organize a response.  An emergency message from the internationally respected health organization Partners in Health gives an indication of the level of crisis:  “Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS… Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, and bandages. Please help us.”

TransAfrica Forum recommends the following:

1.  SUSPEND HAITIAN DEPORTATIONS AND GRANT TPS. Since January 2009 U.S. immigration judges have issued deportation orders to over 30,000 undocumented Haitians.  The Department of Homeland Security should immediately halt the arrests of these deportees and grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians in the United States and conduct a full review of its policy towards Haiti. Temporary protected status (TPS) is granted by the United States (Homeland Security Department) to eligible nationals of countries that cannot safely return to their homelands because of armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. Haiti clearly fits this description.

2.  COORDINATED INTERNATIONAL RELIEF ASSISTANCE. The U.S. government and international aid agencies are already beginning to mobilize immediate relief.  We urge the administration to continue its efforts, in full coordination with international agencies and multilateral agencies in order to ensure efficient relief efforts.  The first impulse of individuals and governments in the face of a crisis of this level is to give, a reflection of the generous nature of the human spirit, which is to be admired.  Joint planning, coordination, and full use of resources already available within the region will ensure the efficiency efficacy of relief efforts.

3. FULL RESOURCE MOBILIZATION. Within the context of international efforts, and as requested by the Haitian government, we encourage the Obama Administration to fully mobilize its resources to support urgent needed search and rescue of the wounded and trapped, including, again if requested by the Haitian government, mobilization of the Southern Command structure.

4.  CHARITABLE DONATIONS. Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private voluntary organizations (PVOs) have long-established development projects on the ground.  Those organizations are best placed to assist with the country’s immediate needs; we encourage supporters to contribute to two highly effective organizations that are already providing emergency services:

*Partners in Health.  Donate online at:  www.pih.org or send your contribution to Partners In Health, P.O. Box 845578, Boston, MA 02284-5578

*Doctors Without Borders.  Donate online at www.doctorswithoutborders.org, or toll-free at 1-888-392-0392.  24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  USA Headquarters 333 7th Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY  10001-5004.

BACKGROUND
Haiti is the least-developed country in the Americas. The “dumping” of cheap products into its economy has further destabilized the nation and underscored the need to overhaul Haiti’s agriculture policies in tandem with international trade policy.  Approximately 80 percent of Haiti’s population lives in poverty and over half struggle to survive on less than $1 a day.  Remittances that Haitians outside the country send home account for over a quarter of gross domestic product (GDP), there is chronic unemployment and the informal economy is steadily growing.

Foreign aid continues to dominate Haiti’s budget (30-40 percent) and its debt stands at $1.3 billion — 40 percent of which was incurred by the Duvalier dictatorships by stealing or misspending most of the money between 1957 and 1986.  While loss of civilian life and public security due to armed confrontations continue to be problems, people are increasingly dying as a result of starvation and poverty. The prices of products needed to fulfill basic needs have risen by more than 50 percent since 2007 and most families are forced to choose between buying food and sending their children to school.  Unfortunately, the current conditions in the country show no signs of notable improvement and disproportionately impact vulnerable groups, such as women and children, human rights defenders and journalists.  Through it all, Haitians continue to identify creative ways to survive and to help others along the way. This tradition of “youn ede lòt,” or “one helping the other” remains strong. One example of this is the existence of solidarity lending groups, established by members to cover financial obligations, in which one person receives a rotating pool of money each pay period.

TransAfrica Forum is the leading U.S. advocacy organization for Africa and the African Diaspora in U.S. foreign policy. TransAfrica Forum helped lead the world protest against apartheid in South Africa and today works for human and economic justice for African people on the continent of Africa, in Latin America and in the Caribbean. Contact us:  TransAfrica Forum, 1629 K Street, N.W., Suite 1100, Washington, D.C., 2006, 202-223-1960, www.transafricaforum.org.

I am a Rebel and Freedom is my Cause

December 26 we lost one of Africa’s greatest activist/poets, Dennis Brutus.  Brutus, freedom fighter, social justice activist, environmentalist, and poet extraordinaire, died from prostate cancer in his home in South Africa.  Brutus, an honorary professor at the Center for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa had been battling prostate cancer for several years.

Born in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Brutus was the son of South African teachers who returned to their country when he was young.  Brutus majored in English at Fort Hare University, one of South Africa’s historically black universities; following graduation he taught at several high schools.  As a result of his anti-apartheid activities Brutus was arrested in 1963 and fled the country while on bail.  He was captured in Mozambique and shot in Johannesburg as he again attempted escape from police custody.  He nearly died when forced to wait for an ambulance that would accept blacks.  He was then sentenced to 18 months on Robben Island, and was imprisoned in the cell next to Nelson Mandela from 1964-1965 for his activism.

While in prison he published several books of poetry.  Following his release, Brutus was forced into exile where he was instrumental in the sanctions movement, particularly the international sports ban against apartheid South Africa.

Following the collapse of the apartheid system Brutus continued his social justice activity, working on behalf of South Africa’s impoverished communities.  More recently Brutus has become a fierce advocate in the fight against global warming.

September 18 the New York-based War Resisters League awarded Brutus a Peace Award for his life-long advocacy.  Despite failing health, Brutus was involved in a lawsuit against U.S. oil and automotive corporations for reparations to the victims of apartheid.  In accepting the award, via videophone, Brutus urged activists “to fight back, to try and save our planet…”

I had the privilege of co-hosting that program.  I have long been inspired by Brutus’ work; his poetry is honest and moving.  My favorite, shared here, “I am a rebel and freedom is my cause.”

I am a rebel and freedom is my cause.
Many of you have fought similar struggles
Therefore you must join my cause:
My cause is a dream of freedom
And you must help me make my dream reality.
For why should I not dream and hope?
Is not revolution making reality of hopes?
Let us work together that my dream may be fulfilled
that I may return with my people out of exile
to live in one democracy in peace.
Is not my dream a noble one
Worthy to stand beside freedom struggles everywhere?

THANKSGIVING.  For most Americans the word evokes universal images:  family, food, prayerful thanks for the blessings we have received throughout the year.  A quintessentially American holiday.  Yet, these images of American bounty run counter to a growing reality; some 49 million Americans face food insecurity.  Of that number, some 17 million are children, which means that half of all American children will need to use federal food stamps at some point in their lifetime and of that a staggering 90 percent of African American children.

The numbers, derived from a research study conducted by the hunger relief organization Feeding America, reflect requests for emergency food assistance from food banks across the country.   Escalating unemployment and the so-called jobless economic recovery indicate that the number of people facing hunger will continue to rise.  Despite these dramatic numbers, cuts in state and federal funding have reduced support to food banks in the face of growing demand.

Feeding America maintains 200 food banks and is associated with more than 63,000 agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency feeding centers.

For most Americans hunger in the developing world – Africa, Asia – is a familiar sight.  Today some 13 million Ethiopians in the Horn of Africa rely on food relief, as do approximately 2.8 million people in the Southern African nation of Zimbabwe.  While pictures of hunger in Africa are pervasive throughout the United States – and a constant feature in the fundraising appeals of the international charity industry – for most people in the U.S., the idea that 49 million Americans suffer from food insecurity seems unthinkable.

The hard fact that hunger and access to nutritious food is as critical for 1 in 6 Americans as it is for 1 in 4 Zimbabweans certainly diminishes the distance between us all.  So, as we look around this Thanksgiving the face of hunger can be our friends, our neighbors, our extended family — here or in Africa — and for some, our own.

These startling figures call out for a major reorientation in U.S. public policy, which continues to be seriously out of sync with the needs of citizens as well as people around the globe.

Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stieglitz estimates that the Iraq War costs $720 million per day.  According to another Nobel Prize winner, the American Friends Service Committee, it costs $624 to give a child free school lunches for a year.  This means that for the cost of one day of war – $720 Million – the country could buy lunch for 1,153,846 kids for an entire year.

As we sit down to dinner today most of our families will begin the meal with a prayer.  Even for the agnostics and atheists among us, more often than not, the Thanksgiving meal will always begin with prayer.  We pray for the gifts that we are about to receive, for our ability to gather as friends and family, and we call for special blessing for those in our community and around the world who are unable to join in our bounty.  I would ask that you add to your family prayers, pray for a change in wrong-headed government policies that continue to prioritize guns over food for our children.  And then on Friday, do something about it.  Act.  Drop your canned goods or make a donation to your local food bank, then pen a letter to your elected officials.  Tell them the time to prioritize people is now.

Drop me a comment; let me know what action you decide to take.

The Ties that Bind is a periodic blog by Imani Countess that explores aspects of globalization.

Weeks after its release, District 9, the blockbuster film by South African director Neill Blomkamp, is still creating a furor: number one in Britain and banned in Nigeria!

The film tells the story of one million aliens inexplicitly left stranded in South Africa. South African authorities set aside a barren township for the aliens called District 9. After 20 years the initially altruistic relations become strained as South Africans, Black and White, express frustration with the aliens. The film begins with the decision by authorities to move the aliens to District 10, a new area further away from contact and view of their human hosts.

Panned by some reviewers as nothing more than the traditional high tech shoot-um-up, sci-fi thriller, the film is a serious allegory that targets the racial and xenophobic tensions unfolding in today’s South Africa. But the allegory does not only apply to South Africa, the film also provides Americans and other Westerners an opportunity to examine their own racism and anti-immigrant policies.

For South Africans the film builds upon the violent and oppressive history of racial separation, known as apartheid. In fact, District 9 uses many of apartheid’s laws and tactics: forced removals, segregated impoverished townships, laws limiting freedom of movement, requirements that aliens carry identification (passbooks) and restrictions on contact between the races. The film applies all the stereotypes associated with South Africa – the aliens (read ‘native,’Black, or Indian) are stupid, prolific breeders, and violence prone. The film uses these images, but builds upon them as well, leaving no racial group or nationality untouched. South Africa’s Afrikaaners are portrayed as brutal authoritarians, or stupid bumpkins. South Africa’s English speakers are interviewed from the ivory towers of academia. And Nigerians, not surprisingly, Blomkamp portrays as gangsters supreme, violent, treacherous, blindly supernatural, and cannibalistic to boot!

While Blomkamp uses a strong satirical approach to race relations and his own nation’s treatment of immigrants, the film is unable to break free of the traditional racial hierarchy. And this is where District 9 fails. Whites are still both masters, and no matter how reluctantly, are the final heroes. This weakness, along with the sharp use of stereotypes has led some to call the film racist.

Nonetheless, the film is entertaining and thought provoking. Science fiction fans still await a film that truly breaks free of racial boundaries in the way of Octavia Butler’s trail blazing work, but it looks like we will need to wait a bit longer.

Still, if you haven’t seen the film, you should. If you have seen it, what do you think of it? Let me know.

“Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief” “lying African…,” “You lie,” of course it’s about race. While not everyone opposed to President Obama’s policies is a racist, former President Carter was absolutely right.

For many Americans the idea of a Black man in the White House is unthinkable. It runs against American cultural socialization, the country’s historical mythology, challenges the fundamentals of the U.S. social order, and as such, it is a reality that will be fought at every turn.

The response from the Oval Office? Focus solely on the issues; while seeking a politically centrist course aimed at passing a modest change agenda with support form all sides of the political spectrum. The President’s Senior Advisor, Valerie Jarrett, recently commented that Obama could, if he chose, make an eloquent statement on race, but that his strategy and the direction given to his senior staff is to focus exclusively on the issues.

Centrist policies applied using a race neutral approach applies not only to the current health care debate, but has become the Administration’s overarching strategy, whether the issue is the collapse of the economy or foreign policy. Advancing the notion that a rising tide lifts all boats, the Administration has supported broad-based approaches to stabilizing the economy and ending the wars, theorizing that what benefits all Americans, will help African Americans as well.

But will the rising tide strategy work? And, while the first African American president champions a centrist and race neutral strategy, how should the rest of us respond?

I think that we must respond with a sophisticated, strategic, and vocal demand for our basic human rights — education, life, health care. We have to wage war against hateful, racist speech. And, we have to do so quickly and collectively.

These past nine months have reaffirmed several clear political realities. One, in our constituency-based political system, organized, vocal, and strategic advocates win. Second, the race-neutral approach overlooks the fact that African Americans have been devastated by the economic collapse, and that the dysfunctions in the health and education systems mean that as a community we are less healthy and less educated than the majority population. Even in immigration, people of African descent are more discriminated against. The inequality in immigration means that it is harder for Africans and people of African descent to immigrate to the U.S. and once here they face discrimination based on both race and nationality.

After thirty years of harshly regressive policies — think Reagan, Gingrich, Bush I and II — that have worked against our community, we and every other oppressed group in this society deserve an end to the systems and structures that have fostered exploitation and inequality.

Contrary to the quiet behind the scenes advocacy favored by many African American leaders still enamored with our new President and their new found access to the White House, this is a time for vocal support and for vocal constructive criticism.

Rather than accept, as one African American leader conceded on CNN that any health care bill is better than no health care bill, our community needs to be adamant that legislation and policies that do not directly fix the wrongs in our neighborhoods should not be supported.

Firm, strategic, vocal, and when necessary, in the streets advocacy not only ensures that our communities get what we need, but they may also be perhaps the most powerful way of supporting Barack Obama. Advocacy that pushes him to keep the commitments made during the campaign, and that also provide him political cover may be the only way that we get the progressive approaches we all deserve and desire.

The media continues to run blaring headlines questioning the custody of Michael Jackson’s children, Joe Jackson’s charges of homicide, and speculation over control of the multi-million dollar estate. Yet, one of the most important aspects of Michael Jackson’s legacy is conspicuously under-reported — his humanitarianism, specifically his affinity for Africa.

Jackson’s first visited Africa in 1974 at age 14; he and his brothers traveled to Senegal, in West Africa. According to a recently released film covering the trip, while there, the group “performed specially written songs” and toured the country.

At age 33 Michael returned to the Continent, where, according to Ebony Magazine, he traveled to Gabon, Ivory Coast, and other countries. At every stop the wildly popular Jackson drew large and enthusiastic crowds. In Gabon, the spectators were more numerous than Nelson Mandela’s. And in the Ivory Coast, Jackson’s crowds were larger than those that came out for the Pope! During that trip, which was poorly reported in the U.S., Jackson prioritized humanitarian acts for example visiting children in schools and the sick in hospitals.

Jackson’s humanitarian work did seem to reflect an understanding of the structural nature of poverty and inequality. If he did understand historical and structural inequality it was not demonstrated, at least not publically, unlike the work of politically mature artist/activist Danny Glover, who is frequently described as the modern equivalent of Paul Robeson. But, throughout his life Jackson did address a range of broad social issues, which occasionally were also reflected in his music. For example in the song “Why You Wanna Trip on Me” he says:

They say I’m different

They don’t understand

But there’s a bigger problem

That’s much more in demand

You got the world hungry, not enough to eat

So there‘s really no time to be trippin on me

Of course Jackson was well known for his collaboration with Lionel Ritchie on the revolutionary 1985 single “We Are the World,” which raised $50 million for famine relief, advocacy, and educational activity. The single, produced and performed in a one-night session, topped the music charts. The single received three Grammy Awards, a People’s Choice Award, and one American Music Award. We are the World was unique in other ways as well. Not only was the effort a collaboration of the country’s biggest stars, but the funds were broadly distributed through the organization “USA for Africa” [www.usaforafrica.org] which used a progressive approach to its grant making.

While many commentators have focused on Jackson’s enduring popularity in Europe and Japan, in 1992 Jackson declared, “Africa is home.” According to the BBC, Jackson had an “extraordinary” impact in Africa. In 1999 Nelson Mandela presented Jackson a Lifetime Achievement Award. Africans were interested in Jackson’s music, even while being put off by his multiple surgeries and change of skin color, which one blogger equated to “disowning God.” African bloggers wrote that Jackson “made people happy,” but interestingly noted that he seemed lonely and depressed, “like his Moon Walk…an illusion that gives the impression of stepping forward but actually sliding backwards.”

Few artists will ever match Michael Jackson’s talent, or the impact that he had on music and the music industry. And, hopefully most will be able to avoid what from the outside appears to be untreated mental illness as reflected in his reported addictions to surgery and drugs. An area where artists and celebrities can and should follow in Jackson’s footsteps is the embrace of humanitarianism and specifically his commitment to Africa.

Celebrating “the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world,” New York City “takes world center-stage” on June 18^th when it hosts the inaugural Mandela Day. The celebration, launched by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the humanitarian group, 46664, urges people around the world to take time on the 18^th to volunteer in a social service activity. Organizers are encouraging the public to carry out tasks as simple as visiting the sick, to tackling broad social issues, like fighting poverty. Why? Because July 18 is living legend Nelson Mandela’s 91^st birthday. The organizers hope to make the celebration an annual event, not a party, but an opportunity to opt in.

Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first nationally-elected president, spent 27 years in prison as a result of his membership with the national liberation organization, the African National Congress, and their determination to end South Africa’s white minority rule, which had constructed a system that some compare to the Jim Crow South in the U.S. The comparison, while useful is, however, flawed, because South Africa was much worse. The country was not only strictly segregated but also based upon an intensive level of systematic economic exploitation not seen in the U.S. since the theft and extermination of Native Americans. For 67 years Mandela, now retired, devoted his life to combating injustice in his country; today Mandela Day organizers encourage people around the world to devote 67 minutes to make their imprint on the world.

On Saturday, New York will host an extraordinary concert at Radio City Music Hall, featuring Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Will.i.am, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Josh Groban, Baaba Maal, and many other artists. Comedian Whoopi Goldberg will host the event. Organizers will stream the concert globally, via a free video Flash Player called Livestream. Also, for a small fee, viewers can access the concert electronically in high resolution, full-screen mode. For viewing details visit www.mandeladay.com. All proceeds from the concert and the pay-per-view will benefit the Mandela organizations:

Ø 46664 is a campaign that bears Mr. Mandela’s prison number and champions his humanitarian work,

Ø The Nelson Mandela Foundation promotes the values, vision, and work of Nelson Mandela,

Ø The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund is a rights-based and child-centered advocacy organization,

Ø The Mandela Rhodes Foundation provides scholarships designed to develop leadership capacity in Africa.

Celebration organizers and supporters are encouraging this annual effort both as a fundraiser for the organizations, and as important, to promote this international day of service – an essential message, particularly for these times. While Wall Street appears to be slowly rebounding from its dramatic collapse last year, for most of us the economic situation remains gloomy. Analysts predict that over 100,000 non-profits will close this year and likely more in the private sector. Nationally unemployment hovers at 9.5 percent, and we know that in the African American community the numbers are at least double, if not higher. Across the nation youth unemployment is at 27 percent, as high school students compete with unemployed adults. This recession and the collapse of the housing market has seen the largest loss of Black wealth in over 50 years; the situation is likely to only get worse before it gets better.

Any international effort designed to remind us of our individual power, and that challenges us to focus, if only for a moment, on making social change, is an endeavor that we should all observe and support. So this Saturday, take 67 minutes of your time and invest it in your community. In the long term this is the only investment that will bear substantial fruit.

Everyday I am hit with more depressing news – furloughs, salary cuts, downsizing. The days of salary freezes and program cuts are over; the real impact of the recession, widespread unemployment throughout the economy, is hitting hard and fast.

If you, like me, are feeling the impact, after the initial grip of fear and panic, try the following tips:

1. First, read a book.

Okay, hope you watched and had a great laugh. Now, a few other tips:

2.  Take delight in your family. I know this sounds corny, but take the time and enjoy being with the people who will love you regardless of whether you make $10,000 or $100,000. Typically during times of economic distress, domestic violence spikes as finance-related tensions tear at the fabric of our families. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Talk to your partner and your kids; let them know what is going on. Depending on their age, your kids can be a tremendous source of support, strength, and many jokes (mine turned me on to the above video).

3.  Cut entertainment expenses. Dinner, the movies, shopping — got to go. Obvious, I know. But theater owners report that their industry has held firm during the recession as people seek relief in the form escapist films, particularly comedies. I’m all for a good film, but save your money and wait for the films to hit cable, or borrow a video; they are free at the library.  In a previous life, I worked for a few months as a movie theater cashier and saw families and groups of friends come in to the theater and spend $50, $70, sometimes even $100 dollars for a night at the movies.  Crazy!

4.  Play more. Dust off the board games on the shelf. Release your closet capitalist and play a game of Monopoly. That will take at least two hours out of your Saturday evening! Find that deck of cards. There are lots of family oriented options to take your mind off the stresses of the moment.

5.  Yard sale! Walk through your living space. See things you haven’t used in the last six months? Stack them up and sell them. Even with limited income, we live in a consumer oriented society and most of us have far more stuff than we need. So, gather up your stuff, organize a yard sale and sell. Furniture, that second car, books, whatever you have someone else may want it.

6.  Cook. If my kids had their way we would stop at McDonald’s for breakfast every morning before school. This morning’s receipt was $8.23. If we did that every weekday morning I would be out $2,139 for the year! We all know that a home-cooked meal is usually cheaper and more nutritious. But, if your work hours are like mine, a 12 or 16 hour day is the norm as opposed to the exception. So cooking becomes an afterthought. But if you stock up on staples, go meatless more often, split the cooking responsibilities amongst family members, cooking will not only save money, but can be fun.

7.  Garden. I am still a novice, but I started a garden this year. I planted herbs and our favorite summer treats: strawberries, blueberries, kale, and tomatoes. So far, the bugs have eaten the kale. I discovered that strawberries grow in small quantities, so we have had three strawberries total for our family of five (might be doing something wrong). And, our tomatoes aren’t due for another month or so. But, my herbs are flourishing, which adds lots of new flavors to every meal.

8.  Change your career. If you are looking at a salary cut the standard advice is to pick up a second job, which may or may not be practical. In the non-profit world, cutbacks typically mean that you do the same amount of work for fewer dollars. So part time work or consultancies may be simply unrealistic. So, consider switching fields. If you are getting paid less, consider finding a job in another field that pays the same, but that demand less time. Hopefully, this may be a temporary switch, but who knows, you might like it!

9.  Give back. As bad as things get, if you live in the U.S. and have a college degree, statistics say you live better than 90% of the people on the planet. So, give back. Whether you tithe at church, or donate time at a local food bank, you will find that giving back to the community is good for the community and good for your spirit.

10.  Get politically active. Hey, you didn’t create this mess. According to Brazil’s president Lula, “This crisis was caused by no black man or woman or by no indigenous person or by no poor person,” rather “white, blue-eyed bankers are entirely to blame for the world financial crisis that has ended up hitting black and indigenous people disproportionately.” So make sure that your elected officials hear from you and that you demand an end to the policies that have brought us this economic disarray and pain.

What has your family been doing to weather the storm? Share your stories in the comments!

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On June 16, 1976 thousands of Black schoolchildren took to the streets to protest the apartheid regime. Hundreds were killed and wounded. Thousands were forced to flee their country, South Africa. They carried their struggle against apartheid around the globe. Today, in honor of those slain children, June 16 is designated International Day of the African Child.

This day provides an important opportunity to reflect on the rights guaranteed to our children and the responsibility held by parents and policymakers to safeguard those rights.

Our collective rights are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, and in the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, medical care, work, and necessary social services. Everyone has the right to education, education that “shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Our children have the right to develop and the right to protection from abuse. The have the right to life, to respect for their views, nondiscrimination, and devotion to the child’s best interests, including healthcare, education, and legal rights. These rights are enshrined in the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.

However, many children in Africa face tremendous obstacles accessing their rights. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of people in the world living in extreme poverty. Also in Sub-Saharan Africa: 35 million school-aged children do not have access to education, an estimated 4.5 million children under age five die as a result of treatable conditions, for example, diarrhea, malaria, and measles. Every year nearly 1 million children die from malaria, most of them in Africa. Despite the guarantee to healthcare, on average low-income countries in Africa only provide 9 hospital beds per 10,000 people.

In the U.S., children of African descent also experience significant inequality. According to the National Urban League’s State of Black America 2009: “fewer than 50 percent of African Americans graduate high school in many major American cities.” U.S. “prisons are disproportionately populated by African American males.” The unemployment rate for young African Americans aged 16-19 is over 30%, and our children are less healthy then white children and lead the nation in HIV/AIDS levels.

While the levels of poverty and access differ, our children — be they in Accra, Ghana or Anacostia, Washington, D.C. — desperately need our attention and support.

Yet, too many of our policymakers focus on the pragmatic, the expedient and on addressing the needs of the powerful. And we, as a community, are frequently unaware of our rights and do not hold our representatives accountable for advancing those rights.

This week the Congress will vote on a wartime supplemental bill that will set aside billions to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Imagine if those funds were used to invest in the common public good: health care, food security, nutrition, education.

Imagine if the millions who voted in historic numbers last November began to demand substantive change from all our policymakers. To demand that in addition to the stimulus package, that more resources were directed at saving lives as opposed to war and weapons.

The 4.1 million children who die annually as a result of preventable disease require that we do more than imagine. The children who survive infancy and who face a life of deprivation, poverty, and who lack access to life, education, and a decent standard of living, demand that we do more. On this day, International Day of the African Child, contact your political leaders and demand that they begin to work for all our children.

Obama and Malcolm X: Far From Opposites

According to the dictionary complimentary is defined as “flattering, kind, praising, or gracious.” Yet, Casey Gane-McCalla concluded in his May 19, 2009 opinion editorial “Obama and Malcolm X: Far from Opposites” that Malcolm X and Barack Obama are complimentary figures; nothing could be further from the truth. Certainly Obama’s success is part of the historical legacy of the broad civil rights movement, of which Malcolm X was a part, but complimentary? No, neither complimentary nor opposite.

It has taken me a full three weeks to respond to Mr. Gane-McCalla’s essay. Being new to the blog world I questioned, “Is it polite to disagree with another featured blogger?” I thought, “I don’t know this brother and I don’t want to take away from the provocative and educational special focus on Malcolm X provided by NewsOne.” But in the end, I thought, in the spirit of Malcolm, better to share my observations and a few facts.

First, Malcolm X emerged from an historical strain of radical, revolutionary, Black Nationalist politics, and President Barack Obama does not. While Obama frequently demonstrates strong liberal and sometimes progressive bordering on Social Democratic views, his political trajectory is dramatically different from that of Malcolm X.

Obama and Malcolm X: Far From Opposites

Additionally, throughout his political life Malcolm maintained a commitment to a number of core values, some faith-based, others political. Among his core political values were:

Political INTEGRITY, Malcolm spoke truth to power, never afraid to say what he believed to be true and his remarks were never moderated by any form of political correctness.

As a theorist Malcolm explored the STRUCTURAL ROOTS of the challenges facing the African world; he spoke of systems and structures, colonialism, imperialism, racism, and the need for alternatives.

And, critically important, as a PAN-AFRICANIST Malcolm was clear about the need for a strong relationship with Africa. Not just Africa as the land from which one could draw cultural inspiration but a place from which African Americans take their identity.

While Obama has only been in office for less than six months and, to be fair, is facing enormous challenges – including the collapse of the global economy – let’s take a look at a few of the issues where we can look at his performance versus Malcolm’s core values.

• Temporary Protective Status for Haitians – To the horror of the immigrant rights community the Obama Administration continues to carryout the discriminatory Bush policy of deportation of Haitian immigrants. Some 30,000 Haitians are being returned, despite the fact that they are eligible for Temporary Protective Status because their country remains in crisis as a result of a series of devastating hurricanes that hit the island last year. This status has been granted to Central Americans and others, yet Haitians face a different standard.

• Durban Review Conference – In April the nation’s of the world gathered in Geneva to plan the next steps in the global fight against racism. Yet, in the political calculus of the Obama Administration, the importance of maintaining a strategic relationship with Israel took priority over showing global leadership on this issue.

• IMF funding – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a global financial institution whose policies have devastated Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. After making a 100 billion dollar commitment to the Fund, the Obama Administration has fought attempts to reform the way this organization works. Basically, they are providing a blank check to a group whose policies have de-industrialized the African continent.

Is this the change we voted for?

Obama and Malcolm X: Far From Opposites

Mature politics requires clear analysis. The bottom line: Obama is the President of the United States, responsible for overseeing the world’s single super power. The challenges facing him are enormous and overwhelming. No one can or should take away from the historic significance of his presidency, his individual talents and integrity, or the enormity of his tasks. His successful candidacy is the result of the foundation created by hundreds of years of struggle, struggle by those whose names we know, like Malcolm X, and by many, many more whose names we will never know. Barack is brilliant, but he is not Malcolm, not his compliment, his complement, or his opposite.

“Our living Black manhood…Our own Black shining prince…” eulogized Ossie Davis in his moving remarks at the February 1965 memorial service for Malcolm X. On Tuesday, May 19 the iconic African American leader would have been 84 years old, if he had not been slain by assassins in a Harlem ballroom. Anniversaries have become the customary occasion to reflect, reminisce, to speculate and so it seems appropriate to take this time to contemplate: As a community elder, what would Malcolm be doing now? What would he say and think about Barack Obama, the first Black president? How would he assess President Obama’s first 100 days?

It is tempting to try to step into the mind of Malcolm and offer some thoughts. But of course, no one really knows, and anyone who thinks that they could project answers would be foolish to try. However, based upon what is known about Malcolm, particularly the last years of his life there are many of his values, perspectives, and teachings that remain highly relevant today. They also provide important guidelines as Black communities work through this time of unprecedented political opportunity in the midst of severe economic hardship and challenge.

First and perhaps most important, Malcolm X spoke truth to power, never afraid to say what he believed to be true. His remarks were never moderated by any form of political correctness, he said what most of us are unable to say. Not only because most lack his wit, expansive knowledge, and oratorical skill, but because most of us remain bound by the restraints of pragmatism and fear. Whether organizing for the Nation of Islam, or for the Organization of African American Unity, following his break with The Nation, Malcolm was unwavering. Following the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm made his famous ‘chickens coming home to roost’ comment. Widely criticized for the remarks made during a period of national mourning, the essence – that the violence spawned by the United States would haunt the society – was a truth that resonated with many throughout the country.

As one listens to his recorded speeches today, Malcolm’s sharp wit, fearlessness, and the basic wisdom embedded in his words continues to command respect and admiration. Malcolm focused on root causes, he talked of systems and structures, colonialism, imperialism, racism, and the need for alternatives.

“…the interests in this country are in cahoots with the interests in France and the interests in Britain. It’s one huge complex or combine, and it creates what’s known as not the American power structure or the French power structure, but it’s an international power structure. And this international power structure is used to suppress the masses of dark-skinned people all over the world and exploit them of their natural resources.” (Detroit, February 1965)

Today, internationalists continue to analyze the intersection between racism and the global economy. The need for unity between Africans and the African Diaspora, for shared analysis, and complementary struggles for racial and economic justice is as important in 2009 as it was in 1965.

Malcolm was not afraid to change, to acknowledge the theoretical and political shifts in his thinking. Few would have had the courage to make a public and dramatic break with the leadership of the Nation of Islam in which Elijah Muhammad taught that the devil was the white man, unequal to Blacks. Yet, Malcolm returned from Mecca with a 180 degree shift in his views.

The yardstick that is used by the Muslim to measure another man is not the man’s color but the man’s deeds, the man’s conscious behavior, the man’s intentions. And when you use that as a standard of measurement or judgment, you never go wrong. (Detroit, February 1965)

And, he was clear about the need for a strong relationship with Africa. Not just Africa as the land from which one could draw cultural inspiration but a place from which African Americans take their identity.

You can’t have a positive attitude toward yourself and a negative attitude toward Africa at the same time. To the same degree that your understanding of and attitude toward Africa becomes positive, you’ll find that your understanding of and your attitude toward yourself will also become positive. (Detroit, February 1965)

While it has been 44 years, we still have much to learn from Malcolm: A Black man who embraced opportunities for growth and change, who always spoke truth to power, who understood why it was vitally important for African Americans to reach across oceans and cultures in order to bridge the historical differences between ourselves and brothers and sisters in Africa and the Diaspora, a Black man who simply was not afraid to Be.

Happy Birthday, Malcolm.

Kenya’s December 2007 elections resulted in weeks of political violence that cost the lives of nearly 1,000 people and displaced 600,000 more. To end the violence, the political adversaries developed a 2008 power sharing agreement and a unity government; today that government is embroiled in debate. Fearing a breakdown between their political leaders and a return to violence, on April 30, Kenya’s women called for a week-long sex strike.

The strike, which ended on May 7, received the support of both the Prime Minister’s and President’s wives. Even sex workers were encouraged to participate. Speaking to a local newspaper, a representative of the Federation of Women Lawyers, one of 11 groups that supported the strike, commented that they had asked sex workers to join the cause, even offering to pay them in order to ensure that they could abstain from servicing their clients.

The strike was called by Kenya’s largest and oldest women’s rights group, Women’s Development Organization, and is reminiscent of the 411 BC Greek play Lysistrata, in which the women of Greece vow to withhold sex from their men until they end the Peloponnesian War.
The Prime Minister’s wife, Ida Odinga, told CNN that she supported the campaign “100 percent.” Further noting that, “this should not be seen as a punishment to men, it is a measure that is aimed at drawing their attention to the real issues.”

While the strike drew amused commentary from news media around the world, the boycott did focus attention on the country’s substantive concerns. The Women’s Development Organization hopes that the boycott will persuade men to work towards peace. “We have looked at all issues which can bring people to talk and we have seen that sex is the answer….It does not know tribe, it does not have a [political] party and it happens in the lowest households,” said Rukia Subow, chairwomen of the organization.

As Kenyan politicians argue over protocol and procedure instead of ending corruption and poverty, it is the country’s women and children who suffer disproportionately.

The strike was a radical move given the challenges facing many of Africa’s women. Not only are societies in Africa frequently very socially conservative, but despite the pivotal role that women play in the economy and household, male patriarchy still rules supreme.

The strike created a stir in Kenya; however, other women have recently used the same tactic as well. In 2006 a group of women in Pereira, a city in western Colombia, launched a sex strike to dissuade men from joining criminal gangs. In Turkey, rural women used the strategy to force their partners to restore a town’s water supply. And in Naples, Italy women pledged to go without sex unless their men refrained from setting off illegal fireworks during New Year’s celebrations.

The impact of the sex strike is yet to be determined, but it is hoped that Kenya’s politicians will heed the demands of their women and begun to put the needs and priorities of their country first.

Cases of the H1N1 virus are now reported in more than 15 states, in every region of the U.S.  According to the London-based Guardian newspaper, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the virus an “international public health emergency.” While media focuses on the Mexican origins of the disease, few in our country are reporting on the suspected link between U.S.-based company Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork packer and hog producer, and the outbreak of the disease.

The current outbreak reportedly started in Vera Cruz, Mexico, the site of a Smithfield subsidiary, Granjas Carroll, which annually raises 950,000 hogs. The first reported case was from Perote in Vera Cruz and involved a five year old boy. According to Mexican press, local residents and municipal health officials believe that “the disease vector was a type of fly that reproduces in pig waste…” Residents of Vera Cruz report that fecal waste from the hog farms is improperly treated and has led to widespread water and air pollution, with “swarms of flies hovering around waste lagoons.”

While Members of Congress pepper Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano with questions about closing the border with Mexico and increasing screening of Mexicans that appear sick, what about the real questions. Was this outbreak sparked by a U.S. company’s corporate practices? If so, is the corporation liable? While the jury is still out regarding the origin of the current outbreak, what is clear is that industrialized agriculture needs review and regulation.

And, as globalization makes our world smaller the need for environmentally sound and people-centered regulatory practices are imperative.

As a personal form of protest I did not attend the Iranian President’s address to the Durban Review Conference, the follow-up to the 2001 World Conference Against Racism and Related Intolerance.  Rather than sit through remarks from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one of the world’s biggest human rights violators, and witness the circus of planned disruptions and walk outs, I decided to attend one of the daily “VOICES” forums where the victims of racism share their personal stories.  After all this is a conference on racism and intolerance.

I am glad I made that decision.  In fact, I wish that the conference organizers had broken with UN protocol and opened with the voices of victims in order to remind government representatives of their obligation to fight the scourge of racism.  Perhaps if those voices had been front and center, maybe our own government would have felt more obligated to participate, instead of choosing to boycott the event.

VOICES is a compelling week-long series of conversations with the victims of racism and discrimination.  Organizer Gay McDougall, UN Special Representative on Minority Issues, opened the series, noting that “listening is a form of empowerment,” although it must be followed up by “action” and “implementation.”

The speakers in the series come from all over the world.  If the UN organizers had put victims on the agenda first, instead of government leaders, they would have heard from:

• Tanzanian parliamentarian, Al Shaymaa Kwegyir. Kwegyir poignantly addressed the stigma faced by albinos in some parts of Africa. This genetic disorder, characterized by the absence of pigmentation, has resulted in abuse, discrimination, and poverty for many albinos. Tragically, some in Tanzania believe that albino bodies hold special powers, which has led to the death and dismemberment of albino children in order to fuel an illegal trade in body parts. Albinos are “suffering because of our skin color – this color – white color, ” Kwegyir said. The Tanzanian government has made the protection of albinos a priority, vowing to bring the perpetrators of violence to justice and has begun a national educational awareness campaign.
• Geiler Romana, founder of AFRODES. Little known to most African Americans, Colombia has the third largest Black population in the Americas. Most Blacks in Colombia make less than $500 a year and live in extreme poverty. Caught between government linked paramilitary groups and rebel guerillas, Afro-Colombians have been displaced from their traditional homes and forced to relocate to urban areas where they are subject to police brutality, unemployment, and lack of opportunity. Romana, himself forcibly displaced from his home by armed groups, founded AFRODES (Asociacion de Afrocolombianos Desplazados), an association working for the rights of Afro-descendants.
• Sarah White, labor leader from Mississippi. White, an African American worker in the $40 million dollar a year catfish industry addressed the domestic face of racism. She described working in slave-like conditions, twelve hour days, intimidation, sexual harassment, in which Black women are assigned the dirtiest jobs, and are monitored even during bathroom breaks in restrooms where the doors have been removed from toilet stalls. White led the largest labor strike in Mississippi, wining concessions for the workers, concessions currently under threat by the global economic recession.

For White and others, the Durban Review Conference is a reminder that racism is a global phenomena, and that we have to challenge and hold our governments accountable.

Lately, my day job as a public affairs director for a Washington, DC-based social justice and advocacy organization has become consumed with work related to the upcoming Durban Review Conference – statements, reports, conference calls, media queries.  The conference is the follow-up to the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance.  For the most part, I have been able to stay on point, successfully navigating around the one big issue in the debate – whose issues really matter?  That was until today when a caller to a local radio show put it all on the table: “When are we going to talk about the real problem?  We know the reason the U.S. isn’t sending a delegation to the conference, it is the Jews.”  As every spokesperson is trained to do, I ignored the question and focused on my talking points.

But after the interview, I consulted my key advisor and teacher, one of the wisest people in my social circle, my daughter — 17 going on 35.  What is the response, I asked?  I didn’t want this debate to degenerate into some sort of unproductive battle between Blacks and Jews.

But the reality is that the issue of the Middle East, and the administration’s assessment that language in the draft documents was anti-Semitic was the published reason for their decision to abstain from the conference.  The U.S. walked out of that 2001 conference, despite the fact that the final Declaration is a comprehensive call to governments to embark upon a path towards human rights and social justice by ending the marginalization of people of African descent, women, refugees, migrants, ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples and the poor.

Until today, the Obama administration has upheld a boycott of the 2009 review conference, claiming that its documents also contained anti-Semitic language. This so despite the fact that millions of people around the globe have seen advances in their struggle for racial equality based in part upon the conference proceedings and that scores of nations around the world support the final declaration.

So, what is the response to the question?  Without hesitation, without much thought my child replied, ‘The question is beside the point.  The question is a distraction.  The point of the Durban Conference, Mom, is the conversation.”  She is right.  The caller didn’t get it, and thus far, the administration hasn’t got it either.

Because this administration and others before it have placed narrow geo-strategic interests above the need to focus on figuring out how we use our most advanced thinking on human rights and human security to move all of us toward becoming a human family.

The question is not Black versus Jew, or gay versus straight, migrant versus national, indigenous versus other, but how do we begin to reframe our thinking and produce solutions that lead to the enfranchisement of all.  The U.S. used the threat of non-participation by the world’s most popular leader as a lever to force the United Nations to remove language it perceived as offensive; that is coercive diplomacy.  Some may call it real world politic, but at its core it places U.S. interests above everyone else’s.  That type of thinking, U.S. exceptionalism is, as my daughter would say, a distraction from the truly important big picture – the conversation.

With or without the U.S., the Review Conference will produce an outcome document, a declaration that nations of the world with endorse, in full or in part.  There will be papers generated, stories of best practices shared, and maybe some governments will commit to developing national action plans to combat racism.  But at the core, beyond the papers, is the hopeful kernel that this discussion might possibly move the global community further towards the creation of a world in which the human family can thrive.

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Imani Countess is a regular contributor to BlackCommentator.com and her work can also be found on TransAfricaForum.org.