At the Burma plenary:
Next Myra Dahgaypaw of the Karen National Union spoke. She spoke in vivid terms of the mass atrocities there. At one point, as she recounted the murder of her family members, she stopped and broke down. After a minute of silence, we broke into an applause of support. After a few more minutes she was able to continue and describe the fate of her aunt who was raped to death while her husband was forced to watch and then her husband was skinned, smothered with salt and chiles and left to bleed to death. Even in this room of people who confront this issue all the time, her account was stunning.
Giving Myra a standing O:
Patrick Cook-Deegan gave us a review of current Obama administration policy on Burma, led by Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State. There are four pillars – 1) release political prisoners (est. 2100), 2) End all conflict with ethnic minorities (i.e., stop the genocide!), 3) establish a tripartite dialogue between the junta, the democracy movement, and the ethnic minorities, and 4) accountability for human rights abuses. While Burma has been under this brutal regime since 1988, there is a sense of a worsening crisis for the ethnic minorities there. We must act!
After the Burma plenary, we attended regional breakout to prepare for Lobby Day on Monday, for which (our own!) MacKenzie Hamilton is the overall coordinator. Our Massachusetts session was led by Allyson Neville, who led us through the basics of the process – what to say, how to approach issues, etc. We are pretty fired up for our meetings tomorrow!
Ms. Kehoss then led the students on a walk down the mall to the National Archives – another gorgeous 70 degree day in DC. Meanwhile I attended a session on the Carl Wilkens Fellowship to which I have applied. This was informative session, in which several current fellows described their work. One memorable moment came when a gentleman from Congo asked a question about whether what we do actually makes a difference? It hasn’t for him people in eastern Congo – the genocide goes on. In one of the responses, one of the fellows made the analogy to the anti-slavery movement. Many people lived and died working for the end of slavery and never seeing it. But their actions helped eventually to bring that day. Perhaps our efforts to end genocide are similar.
We met up again for lunch at the concluding panel of the Conference. Carl Wilkens himself started with his story from Rwanda – he was the only American to stay when the U.N. evacuated Rwanda as the genocide began. He stayed and helped shelter and feed hundreds of orphans who would have otherwise perished, while his wife Theresa took their kids to Kenya. As he told his story he shoed pictures of the children who he helped and w who survived and those who were killed. Carl is a dynamic and poiwerful speaker. When MacKenzie did genocide recovery work in Rwanda last summer with Global Youth Connect, she became friends with one of the orphans he saved – it was an emotional moment as I took her picture with the Wilkens.
Carl Wilkens:
MacKenzie with Theresa and Carl Wilkens:
The panel continued with Joey Cheeks, gold medalist speed skater, who told of how he came to decide to use his celebrity to combat genocide. He talked about he bystander effect where people often ignore people in peril rather than risk getting involved. But as he said, if it was you on the ground getting beat up, wouldn’t you want someone to stop and help? Oscar Morales spoke – he who started the One Million Voices against the FARC movement, which culminated in a international march in which 14 million people participated. Also, Johnny Strange, a high school student who has scaled the seven highest peaks in the world, spoke of his commitment to the issue, posing on the top of Everest with a sign “Stop Genocide.” Then Layla Amjadi, STAND’s Student Director told her story of commitment to the cause. Then after we acknowledged the Coordinators who organized this fabulous conference, the day ended with an inspirational speech by Sam Bell.
After the conclusion, we walked down the mall on this spectacular afternoon to the Holocaust Museum. This experience is powerful to the point of being indescribable. For most of our group, it was their first time through the museum – what an invaluable experience. We walked back in the last fading colors of dusk to Capitol Hill, and went to enjoy another dinner at the food court at Union Station – this is one of my favorite places to eat anywhere!
At the Washington Monument:
At the Holocaust Museum:
On the walk back to the hotel:
The Capitol:
Dinner at Union Station:
At 7, we met Tess back at the hotel for a night monument tour. We spent time at the WWII Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, The FDR Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial (also walking through the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials). The night tour never disappoints . . .
On the night tour w/ Tess - the WWII Memorial:
At the Jefferson Memorial:
Hangin' with Abe:
At the Korean War Memorial:
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