Dear All,
I am so happy that it is the weekend. Because this has been a hella week. Yet our hella is nothing like the HELL being experienced around the world. We can either use our time to escape other people’s hell with lip service – we can talk the hell out of it – or we can do something about it!
Well, I challenge US to do something different: I am challenging us all to show up! You figure it out!
Nonetheless get thinking……:
- How can we turn talk into action?
- How do we influence others?Is it ALL about Ukraine?
- And what about those who say – do not punish the Russians because of Putin? Ask me how I feel about THAT!!!
- Why does Ukraine hit home for MEDIA when Ethiopia (Eritrea… Tigray Conflict) with the same amount of displaced suffering humans last 2 year got almost ZERO airtime in the USA even after one of the most gut wrenching reports on CNN?
Quoted along with fellow South African Trevor Noah may lend some attention?
“Refugee advocates said they too feel for the Ukrainian people. But say they can’t avoid noticing that the Ukrainian refugees are being viewed differently than refugees from, say, Africa, Haiti, and Central America.
I think being blond haired and blue eyed has everything to do with it,” said Melanie Nathan, CEO of the African Human Right Coalition.*
Trevor Noah of The Daily Show recently shared the same observation“I don’t know about you but I was shocked to see how many reporters from around the world seem to think it’s more of a tragedy when white people have to flee their country,” said Noah.
Nathan added, “I’m going to be quite crude when I say this … not for a minute do they contemplate the same feeling when they see the same people exiting Ethiopia. Somehow a different standard is applied.”
Nathan said the tears in Europe are no different than the tears in Haiti.The pain and fear are the same.“I’m very happy to see that there is an enormous response to the Ukrainian crisis,” she said. She now hopes that response will trigger greater sympathy and support for all refugees, no matter how they look.
And with these questions asked – do something you would not normally do for the world – the whole damn world! If we are going to learn anything, let UKRAINE be a wake up call – not just unto Ukraine but unto the WORLD!
Love ya
Mel
*African Human Rights Coalition works with people in forced displacement, LGBTQI refugees and asylum seekers, providing humanitarian and advocacy services and resources as well as expert witness country conditions reporting for LGBTQI asylum seekers.
Melanie Nathan
AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION
www.AfricanHRC.org
PRIVATE COURTS INC.
Partnersmediation.com
SPEAKER
Melanie Nathan, Speaker Bookings
nathan@privatecourts.com
@MelanieNathan1
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