Tag Archives: Movement

The Commercialized Pandemic

Posted on October 29, 2009 | Leave a comment

Because temporary pity doesn’t bring security for the future

by Whitney McGuire

December 1st, 2006 was an overcast day, but that didn’t deter me from venturing across campus to see famed rapper Ludacris speak to the GW community about the AIDS pandemic. I made my way across campus skipping one class, I must admit, to hear what Ludacris could possibly say about such a pressing issue. I admit I was skeptical. Aside from getting an HIV test the day before, I decided to wear my overpriced “INSPI(RED)” t-shirt from the (PRODUCT)RED line begun by U2’s Bono as an attempt to show my support for the AIDS pandemic and to vainly draw attention from Luda to myself. I entertained the latter thought very briefly. I digress.

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Well I certainly didn’t get attention from Ludacris, but what I got was an increase in my initial skepticism about this visit in general. Prior to attending this event, I laughed candidly with friends about the notion of Ludacris giving a speech about AIDS. I even dissuaded my boss, involuntarily, from going to the event by telling her that he was not coming to perform, but he was in fact coming to talk to us. I couldn’t help but think to myself after these incidents, “really, why was Ludacris coming to speak to us (read: seemingly health savvy/ able to afford HIV and AIDS drugs- college students) about the pandemic”?

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My thoughts stayed with me as the lights in the theater dimmed. Flash bulbs from area newspapers and magazines sporadically illuminated the darkness. The clapping of the audience subsided as the likes of Charlize Theron, Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child, Ashley Judd, and of course Ludacris graced a projection screen in front of us imitating the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” gestures that made three monkeys famous at one point. I digress once more. These A-list celebrities urged us (once again, seemingly health savvy/ able to afford HIV and AIDS drugs) college students to become aware of the AIDS pandemic and to give – the optimal word here– to a worthy cause by purchasing a trinket, a necklace of some sort (which was probably made in China, but that’s an unfair assumption) at your nearest ALDO shoe store for only $5.00! I along with other audience members became increasingly uncomfortable as the faces appeared more frequently and everything else they were saying seemed to be edited to repeat the optimal word give or better yet, buy. At this point, my INSPI(RED) shirt became less and less appealing.

 

From this event I learned that Ludacris became aware of the sense of urgency to educate others about the AIDS pandemic while filming his “Pimpin’ all Over the World” video in South Africa (The irony is just too overwhelming right now. Hopefully he was prophylactic-ally protected while he was doing all of that “pimpin!’” I digress once again.) He mentioned that DC was one of the most infected cities in North America (1 out of 20 DC residents is infected with the virus according to the Center for Disease Control); therefore his visit to GW was somewhat warranted, aside from Sigma Phi Epsilon’s push to showcase this event as a philanthropic effort (Kudos to them by the way for raising over 30,000 dollars for this cause. Trust me we were reminded quite often of their generous donation).

The audience was quite receptive. No one heckled Ludacris about his promiscuous lyrics, partially because he forewarned the audience that he practices safe sex and that his lyrics such as “shake your money maker” are about having fun, and partially because we didn’t really care about the speaker’s image– that’s more for universities like Northwestern and Harvard. We just wanted to know what more we could do to increase the education about this pandemic in our own city. Several statements were made that seemed to follow the same grain: “GW students are typically not from DC, able to afford health care, and are extremely educated about the risk of contracting HIV and AIDS. The majority of people mentioned in the former statistic are not here at GW, but in the greater DC community.” These statements were ignored by the expert from Youthaids.org sitting to Ludacris’s left.

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The commercialization of the AIDS pandemic has become a temporary attempt to garner attention to a permanent—although, hopefully, a weakening—problem. Julie Potyraj, a sophomore here at GW, says that these A-Listers might think that “it’s cool to help [the poor]” but this fad “only helps as long as people are interested. The fate of impoverished children lies at the mercy of the Hollywood A-List and commodity hungry spenders.”

What I couldn’t get out of my mind was this internal dilemma; I don’t believe that these marketing campaigns make me feel any more secure about the future of this pandemic. I would have been more moved by hearing a testimony from an actual HIV/ AIDS survivor than celebrities. But on the other hand, I’m so glad that these proceeds are going towards this cause. It seems, however, that that is where it stops. What is the cause? Is it AIDS education within the inner city, the city in which we undeniably reside? Is it pressuring various African governments to start instituting AIDS awareness programs? I am not sure. The various non-profit organizations that were present that day seemed to offer more suggestions as to treatment, prevention and volunteer opportunities than the “expert” and rapper on the stage. The popularization of this pandemic has become, as Julie stated, cool. Let’s face it, sex sells, even if it kills you. I, like Julie, just hope that people will still care “after Madonna stops adopting African Children” and after ALDO finds something else to market. The fate of this pandemic should not lie at the mercy of Hollywood’s A-List.

For more information please visit the following sites:
www.youthaids.org
eric.ed.gov
www.cdc.gov
www.condoms4life.org
doh.dc.gov
www.unaids.org


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3rd Annual Mandingueiros Batizado 2009

Posted on October 21, 2009 | 3 Comments

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Recently, I went to the 3rd Annual Mandingueiros Batizado 2009, a regional Capoeira event in Alexandria, VA.  A good childhood friend of mine, Sami Ahmed (“Selo” as he is referred to by his fellow capoeiristas), has been involved and practicing capoeira for several years [and was actually receiving his new cord to become a monitor at this event!]. Any ideas about capoeira I had were due to films I may have seen that showed some capoeira, or my roommate’s description of her college beginners level class. However, those stories are no where near how great it is to be there in person and see and watch people practicing Capoeira. I got to witness the actual batizado, which is essentially the ceremonial process in which individuals become official members and receive either their first cords or new ones symbolizing their transition onto a higher level.

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Following the batizado, I got a chance to talk to his instructor and creator of Grupo Ondas, Silas Pinto. Silas Pinto was born and raised in Cape Verde. His parents ran a church and were very religious. Due to the lack of adequate educational and career opportunities, Pinto moved to 1989 to the U.S. to go to University of Rhode Island. He went all the way to receive his doctorate in psychology. He is now a Tufts University Graduate level professor in psychology. He has a wife , 2 kids aged 3 1/2 year and 1 year old.

During his university years, he decided he wanted to learn capoeira and start sharing it with other people so he created Grupo Ondas. Grupo Ondas was officially created in 1996 and originates from Rhode Island at University of Rhode Island. In capoeira, there are three center styles: Regional, Contemporary, and Angola. Grupo Ondas practices regional. Silas wanted to take traditional brazilian capoeira and introduce other cultures to it and vice versa. It is well-known among capoeiristas that Brazilian’s tend to be very protective about their capoeira. The current Grupo Ondas logo has Cape Verde flag because Silas wanted the group to reflect unity and cross-cultural significance. Initially, Silas based the group out of URI, since that provided the necessary financial support for travel and outreach that a university could provide in those early days. Overtime, the group started to be more widely accepted especially among other more traditional capoeiristas. Now it has roughly 150-200 members and managers to maintain the operational aspect of the ever-growing group.

Here’s how the rest of our conversation about Grupo Ondas and capoeira went:

How can Capoeira apply to other aspects of someone’s life? What tools have you used from this art to apply to rest of life?

I learned about respect. Respect for people of different ethinicities and ages. We learned about self-control, discipline, friendship, community, protect not destruct. Motto is: build true confidence, knowledge in mind, honesty in heart, and strength in body.

Why should  someone start learning? If you were to convince a young working adult to start practicing what would you say?

Many times people are attracted to Capoeira simply for the aesthetics of it. It looks cool and fun to everyone. Personally, I stayed because of the challenge on all levels. Its not just a sport but it actually makes you a better person because of the people you meet and principles you learn. People come in and out of our group often because ultimately they are a bit anarchy-minded. Discipline and rules are key to learning and excelling in capoeira. Ultimately, capoeira chooses you as does any sport. How well you do in this sport is determinant usually on two factors: 1) innate ability to do well in this specific sport 2) proper training.

Where would you like the group to go from here? Future Plans?

Well in regards to the studio space, it is open to existence of the mall. The studio just serves to be useful space for our group and community. [sidenote: over the past 5 years there have been reports that Landmark Mall is suppose to close]. DSCN6670

In regards to Grupo Ondas, I would like to see more focus on inner structure. I don’t want to lose personal relationship I have with each student. Knowing their names, family members. At the same time,  I still want it to grow so that it can be financially stable and can run itself. Ideally, I would like to have it so that the schools are spawned from our own, meaning our current students continue on to be instructors.

This is the 3rd Annual Mandingueiros Batizado. What’s been the biggest change you have seen since the 1st one? What’s been biggest challenge? Proudest moment?

This is the 3rd annual OPEN batizado, meaning its for everyone who takes the course. We have had 6 inner batizados over the years. Much has changed over the years as expected. When we first started the highest level attained by the students at the time was 2nd, and now students are at the 7th level. The business itself has transformed. We went from using a room in Golds Gym to having full access to an actual studio. The biggest challenge is of course money, not that easy to get donors and financial support. As for the proudest moment? Well honestly it was when I gave my wife her graduado cord while she was 8months pregnant.

When you receive the cord it means you are an understanding person of this system. Therefore, you represent the school. Sami (Selo) comments,  “It is much more personal when you receive a cord here than in any other sports or schools. It is a very big deal and the energy is high the entire time. For instance in Taekwondo, there are so many people to even begin to appreciate the moment. The cord giving/receiving moment is also a 1st impression of sorts too, to show them there is a reason to keep coming. It’s not just a sport you become trained in, you are also joining a family.”

I am fully responsible for this school. Selo is monitor, meaning he manages it on a more frequent basis. I live and work out of Rhode Island, so there is a lot of traveling involved for everyone from RI to Boston to here and back.

Oh also, whats with the all white? (referring to the white uniforms capoeiristas wear)

I have a  few theories:

1) Traditionally Sundays everyone wore white to church so people would stay in their church clothes then joda.

2) When you wear white you have to keep it clean, so the way you differentiate whether someone is a beginner or not is by how dirty and/or clean your outfit was.

My theory?

In 1930s they all started wearing white because Master Bimba wore white to a joda. Before him, capoeira was illegal and people were seen as vagabonds and were arrested. Master Bimba tried to legalize it and would wear white uniform to make the sport look more professional.Sub-consciously,  white is generally seen as pure (as opposed to black). It is said now that we wear it for tradition not because we believe in it. Cannot possibly ignore the power and effect of colonialism and history behind all this. Now, as an instructor and leader, I am trying to get the students to change their opinion, so in our school the graduados (beginners) wear black. This all started back when I was starting out and actually got in trouble for innocently wearing black to a joda. It was seen as a sign of disrespect for me to wear black to the event and I of course so nothing wrong with So when I created the group, I altered the traditions. For instance, in this group, all members have animal names and beginners wear black because symbolic of respect and reminder of how to communicate.

After the interview winded down, I bid my farewells to Sami and Silas and  the few remaining at the studio as they chatted away about the celebrations that were in store for later that night.

It is definitely refreshing to see that there are local groups and communities that nurture and support the development of different art forms and practices. Here’s a video clip that gives you just a glimpse into what Grupo Ondas does:

If you would like more information about Grupo Ondas and/or taking capoeira classes, email the instructor, Sami (Selo) at selocapoeira@gmail.com

-Selamawit

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Prosperity is Relative

Posted on April 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

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The African nations that comprise the 2nd largest continent in the world have been aiming for prosperity in all sectors of society since the independence era of 1950s. Has much changed? Some argue no, others argue yes. In my opinion, the answer is all relative. Geographical location, Geopolitical importance, economics, cultural values, religion, health, and history are the key factors that determine the answer to such a question. There are arguments that claim that colonialism is also worth noting. However, that is a topic of discussion which I will not divulge into, yet. For this specific piece, I want to examine the current state of a specific country that has been in the news recently: Zimbabwe. The general history of Zimbabwe is not that different from that of the other 51 countries comprising Africa. However, there are key differences that have brought the country to its current state. The key issues that led to the occurrence of the events from the last 2 weeks are: colonialism, land reform, and African political traditions.

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Why was there such uproar the past few months in Zimbabwe over Mugabe’s refusal to turn over power? Perhaps it is the displacement of natives from their wealthy, fertile lands by the black natives. Perhaps it is a very complicated statement to say the least. In my opinion, the answer is all relative. As are most issues that plague us day-to-day.

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Recently I had a very heated discussion with a group of people about the current political climate in my native country of  Ethiopia. There were prominent business men, students, blue-collar workers, and the unemployed amidst the crowd. We discussed the current food crisis, effectiveness of previous administrations, role of the upper-class and gender rights. We argued back and forth for several hours; sometimes it escalated into shout matches amongst the seven of us. However, in the end it was clear that there was no clear resolution; the progress that an up-and-coming business man from a prominent background sought was drastically different than the one envisioned by the young radical student. Progress for some meant support the current administrations usage of corruption, money laundering, and U.S. appeasement as a necessary towards widening the country’s foreign investment, expanding its export/import market, and deepening the pockets of the few and privileged. Progress for some meant criticizing the current administration meanwhile supporting the national church that remains silent in times of social upheaval and injustice and for the few of us left, progress meant reacting and implementing change.

Initially I remained quiet as the discussion progressed over time, mainly out of exhaustion, but also because this type of discussion is what I live for, what I studied, what I really know (but not limited to). In addition, I knew in this specific discussion, I would be the radical; the militant, the extremist, the feminist, the idealist, the Marxist, the socialist, etc I could go on and on about what labels you could tag to my shouts and cries of injustice. Personally, I don’t mind these titles. I think it suggests that you’re not afraid to think differently and more importantly you’re not afraid to commit and implement the change necessary to bring life to these words. And as I tried to gather my thoughts, feelings and frustrations at the comments made throughout this group discussion, one specific word resonated in my ears: prosperity.

What does that even mean? As it was blurted out of one person’s mouth because he was arguing that the country was prospering and things were better than they have been in hundreds of years, comparatively speaking, I thought about what the other 72million people thought of such a statement. Hell, even I agreed with him to some extent. Things were better in some ways and devastatingly worse in others. But then I removed myself from the circle and looked at everyone. The same person who made this comment was a prominent business man, whose wealthy well-respected father built the foundation for him to have the success he has today; person of his position is allowed the ability to reap the benefits of a corrupt government that poorly manages its national funds and schemes the world into giving it more “aid money” to fatten their pockets a little more as the poor and destitute are starving and ravaged by disease.

And how did they view me? Well, they saw me as the Americanized unknowing young radical who was too-educated and empowered, perhaps for her own good; a young woman who could never understand the way things were and would “always” be in African realm of politics. I was the outsider.

The Activist

So at that moment, I became even more enraged and helpless than I already felt at the onset of the discussion.

And in my anger, I blurted out: Ignorance is bliss. And it is. Sometimes, it really is. But I pressed on, as in my eyes; it couldn’t have been that simple of answer for why no one addresses all of these issues.

So, I started shouting out questions to everyone, as to whether they voted in elections, they donated to charities, they adhered to international labor laws, they had food drives, sponsored a child, or helped fundraise to rebuild a school or clinic . I could go on and on what I thought they could do to give back. What was I met with? A mixture of murmurs and shouting, as everyone was grasping at an opportunity to either avoid my questions or completely dismiss me again as the ignorant-judgmental-slightly ethnocentric outsider. Completely unaware of the day-to-day life struggle in the city and countryside faced by the masses. And as the discussion progressed and they provided their own personal day-to-day problems of living under corrupt and difficult times, I realized that I too was feeding into the very ignorance I slandered their names with; that I was enjoying a little bit of this same bliss being here in the US.

So where did it go from there? Well, there was no real agreement met on anything except that things were different in Ethiopia, that whether life was better or worse was relative to each individual citizen. That even the very nature of how we engaged in this discussion is display of how African politics play out: great initiatives suggested but minimal to nonexistent cooperation and implementation occurs. It’s this idea that life goes on, and it really does. Whether the deaths of the masses are seen as a form of population control (pc) or a result of ineffective economic development policies seems irrelevant at this point. I share this story with you, not to rant on and on about what movement needs to develop, or what changes need to occur to create some utopian world, but rather to be a soundboard of thoughts, opinions, and initiatives.

As the author of this article, I didn’t intend to go on a tirade about the injustices of the world and how a revolution of sorts will be televised, because in my opinion, it won’t, (at least not all at once) because much of the world is full of talkers and not doers. Many speak of progress and desire for change, but yet they are the same people who don’t exercise their right to vote or even make the attempt to register. Many speak of ideals but fail to practice them in their day-to-day existence. We all are a part of this human chain linked across all seven continents; the relative prosperity felt in the favelas of Brazil, does determine and effect the standard of life in Accra, Ghana and wraps around all the way to Manila in the Philippines.

So back to the first statement regarding prosperity: yes, prosperity is relative. And yes, ignorance is bliss, sometimes. But this relativity is dependent on the type and manner of action and initiative we take towards that very progress and development we so desire. So experience, grow, and act, because if not, there’s no guarantee that you won’t meet the same fate as this guy:

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