Archive for September, 2011

 

Why is the leopard the national symbol of Congo?

Monday, September 26th, 2011

In Congo in the province of Kasai-Occidental there’s an ethnic group called the Tetela (Batetela).  When a boy became a young man he would go through an initiation and he would wear leopard skin and would become a warrior. They called those young men “Guerrier Léopard” meaning leopard Warrior. See this particular ethnic group wasn’t quite like the others; they gave hard time to the Belgian colonizers to colonize them. When they would hear of Colonizers coming they would clear out the whole village, the Belgians would come and they would spend the night. While they’re sleeping the “Guerrier Léopard” would come out with bow and arrows and kill the colonizers. These young men were essentially the protectors of their heritage, their home.

Provinces of Congo - Batetela ethnic group are found in Kasai Occidental

  Patrice Lumumba the first prime minister of Congo, father of the Congolese independence, a hero not only in Congo but also all over Africa was mutetela (from Tetela ethnic group).  When he became the voice of the Congolese unity,  voice of the independence from the colonizers, he was crowned protector of the mutetela’s. He was given leopard skin hat, symbolizing the “Guerrier Léopard”.

  That’s where he decided that the leopard will be the symbol of the Congolese independence from the Belgians,not only does it represent their strength but also their perseverance to remain free as people. It’s also a wake up call to the Congolese youth of today, a wake up call to become young “Guerrier Leopard” and like their fore fathers to stand up and take charge, to protect their home, to protect Congo.

Hey there friends, The other week I got the chance to head to El…

Monday, September 26th, 2011


Hey there friends,

The other week I got the chance to head to El Camino Real High School and check out what their Falling Whistles group was doing there, I kid you not, these guys are so incredible and doing so much towards making Peace in the Congo happen, truely inspiring. Something I notcied is how crafty they had been with their whistles and how each had made it their own, we got chatting about it here at the office and then popped something up on Facebook about it. So I wanted to share with you this photo that we got in response to that post, so rad what he has done with his. After seeing and hearing about how people had customized their whistle I took a crack at it myself, putting it on a neckalce I had made back home, but I feel I still have plenty of more un-tapped whistle renovating to be discovered.

I would love to see what you have all been up to with customizing your whistle, tell me about it, flick me a photo, I am a curious cat.

Love to you,

Harriet

p.s. hhobman@fallingwhistles.com

Block Party!!

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Are you in the Arts District?  LA?  California?  The West Coast?  West of the Continental Divide?  Then come find this wall!

This Tuesday, the 27th, Falling Whistles is going to be throwing a Block Party @ 2nd & Garey.  There will be beer, food trucks, music, and all sorts of good cheer to go around.  We are also going to be making a massive street art display (out of said wall), and we want you to be part of it!  So come; bring your friends, your neighbors, your landlord, your kids, anyone you can grab, and shimmy on over to 2nd & Garey.  5:30.  Be there.  It will be huge in helping us towards Peace in Congo.

It will be good.

-kyle

The Last Supper

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Jude Law visiting Maraston children's center in Kabul during his 2007 visit to AfghanistanCritics argued that Jeremy Gilley’s campaign, “Peace One Day”, would merely be a day of symbolism. They asked, “What difference can one day really make?” To that, Jude Law, Peace One Day Ambassador, replied, “The difference is life or death.”

Here are the facts:

  • On September 7, 2001, the United Nations officially proclaimed September 21st to be an international day of ceasefire, conflict, and war; a world wide truce.
  • In the past, Afghanistan reported that the day of peace has lowered the level of violence by 70%.
  • The Taliban has participated and even agreed to not interfere with health workers involved in the campaign.
  • Several other countries have reported lower levels of domestic violence on the day of peace.

Jeremy Gilley hoped his 2011 campaign would be bigger than it ever had been before. He toiled to get the online community (Twitter, Facebook), grassroots, celebrities, the UN, and governments from all over the world to be a part of the largest reduction of violence the world had ever seen.

This September 21st, thousands of people around the world united against violence as they tweeted in outrage as a man on death row sat down, forgoing his final meal, to spend his last moments with loved ones.

Left to right, Alec Baldwin and Michelle MalkinThough clearly controversial, the Troy Davis case isn’t unprecedented. What sets this case apart is how it quickly spread like wildfire. News of the Troy Davis case multiplied exponentially due to scrupulous Twitter coverage. Every minute was documented by passionate tweeters expressing their indignation. Alec Baldwin of NBC’s 30 Rock became engaged in a Twitter battle with conservative blogger Michelle Malkin and tweeted, “Every sensible American is appalled when police officer is killed. But the attendent charges are grave. U don’t want 2 kill an innocent man.”

Above, Andrew RasiejIf the public shows a surging interest in current events and has found an effective media through which to express their opinions, are the officials not obligated to hear them out? As Andrew Rasiej, the founder of Personal Democracy Media, puts it, “We are living in a 21st century communications infrastructure, but we are still governed by a 20th century political system.” 

So what are we, the people of the United States (heck, the people of today’s 21st century society!), going to do in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and provide for the common defense? Tune in, turn on, and drop out?

Not quite.

If the Troy Davis and Jeremy Gilley have taught us anything, it is that while us mere plebians do not have the power to create public policy, we have the power to influence and change it. If we stand united, we can create a more stable foundation. If we stand united, peace is possible.

We are the “Age of the Information” and we must use this to our advantage. Politicians, celebrities, and other figure heads can stir up the media with a passionate plea, Twitter and other forms of social medial will be the most important tool to utilize if the US wants to see a change in policy. 

Stay alert, stay active, and most importantly, my friends, stay hungry.

Arianna

FW on the Road

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

We’re rolling and we’re on our way to a city near you. Save the date and come join the party!

Email tour@fallingwhistles.com for more information.

Los Angeles, CA – 10/03-10/04
Las Vegas, NV – 10/05-10/06
San Francisco, CA – 10/07-10/08
Portland, OR – 10/10-10/11
Seattle, WA – 10/12-10/14
Salt Lake City, UT – 10/15
Denver, CO – 10/17-10/18
Lawrence, KS – 10/19
Tulsa, OK – 10/20
Oklahoma City, OK – 10/21
Fort Worth/Dallas, TX – 10/22-10/24
Austin, TX – 10/26
Baton Rouge, LA – 10/27
New Orleans, LA – 10/28
Atlanta, GA – 10/29
Nashville, TN – 10/30-11/02
Lexington, KY – 11/03
Chicago, IL – 11/04-11/07
Columbus, OH – 11/08
Philadelphia, PA – 11/09-11/10
NYC, NY – 11/11-11/14
Boston, MA – 11/15-11/17
Princeton, NJ – 11/18
Baltimore, MD – 11/19-11/20
Washington, DC – 11/21-11/23
Richmond, VA – 11/28
Salem, NC – 11/29-11/30
Charleston, SC – 12/01
Miami, FL – 12/02-12/04
Mobile, AL – 12/05
San Antonio, TX – 12/06
Phoenix, AZ – 12/09
Los Angeles, CA – 12/10

Volunteer Night Awesomeness

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Yo yo everybody,

This week for the event update I’m going to share a little about our weekly tradition - FW Volunteer Night! Every Wednesday night the FWinterns host volunteers at FW headquarters in LA and have a blast.  This is always a fun way to connect with more whistleblowers and a productive way to get lots of whistles wrapped and ready to ship out. 

Last night we finished wrapping whistles early, so we had time to discuss more of Falling Whistles work in-depth. 

We talked about the different departments within Falling Whistles - Educate, Disseminate, Congregate, Advocate, and Rehabilitate - and how these departments all intrinsically work together.  After that we went back to our Congregate Department (best team ever!) and went over the Fall Tour.  On one of the interns’ first days in the office, we were charged with drawing the US on the wall so we could map out the tour route.  Above is the final product, pretty spectacular I’d say.  We will be traveling to 33 cities across the nation from October 3rd to December 10, taking America by storm!

We will be reaching out to different schools, retailers, and building relationships with whistleblowers old and new during this time, so get ready we are comin’ your way.  We went over the route with our volunteers and got suggestions for places to go/people to connect with, which is always helpful. 

Wednesday nights at Falling Whistles headquarters, definitely the place to be. 

Have a great day!

We need an envoy!! ….What’s an envoy?

Friday, September 9th, 2011
Yesterday we told you that the International Crisis Group released a report on the state of Congo’s Eastern provinces as we approach November’s elections. In order to avoid widespread chaos, the ICG listed a number of ways to ensure stability on the ground. Their suggestions were on point and essential, and still we feel like the ICG list would be difficult to accomplish without a special envoy on the ground.
Over the last eight months we have joined 77 Congolese leaders, 35 Congressmen 16 Senators and over 24,000 of you in asking President Obama to appoint an envoy in order to end violence in Congo. But what does special envoy even mean?

Today we’re out to illuminate the envoy. What do they do? What do they look like? How do they dress? How are they different from resident diplomats? If we are all playing Monopoly is the envoy the hotdog or top hat?

We are caught up in the bustle of the Digital Age. Our world changes swiftly before our eyes. And, in the midst of the breakneck chaos it is easy to forget that America is a young nation, at first a small and unlikely dream, then a sovereign country teetering into the 20th century, bombarded by wars and economic downturns before it grew legs as a dominant global power. It is during these eras of uncertainty and times of global turmoil that our leaders rely on the expertise of the special envoy.

During the 18th and 19th centuries the envoy was employed to maintain US stability. During the height of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin traveled to Paris as an envoy and sat down with King Louis XVI as the colonies struggled against the might of the British Empire. The French fleet the Bourbon king agreed to send proved instrumental in winning that war. In 1790, after America gained independence, George Washington appointed Gouverneur Morris as an envoy to England to resolve post-war tensions. In 1803 the Louisiana Purchase that gave us the American Midwest was negotiated by Thomas Jefferson’s envoy. During the Cold War, when our relationships abroad were strained, President Kennedy sent his brother Robert as an envoy around the world to strengthen friendships, and to secretly maintain negotiations with powers in Moscow.

As America grew comfortable as a global power, the envoy became less about business, and more about projecting American leadership. Today a US-appointed envoy explicitly creates the impression that our leaders are making an all-out effort to settle a crisis. Harry Hopkins, FDR’s envoy operating on the Nazi-dominated European Continent, negotiated the terms of our initial involvement in World War II. In 1983 Ronald Reagan sent Donald Rumsfeld as an envoy to the Middle East which culminated in his famous handshake with Saddam Hussein. George J. Mitchell definitively negotiated a peace settlement after centuries of violence in Northern Ireland. Richard Holbrooke was the bullheaded official that demanded an end to ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. General Scott Gration orchestrated last year’s Referendum Vote in war-torn Sudan.

Envoys are not silver bullets, and their success depends on intangibles like timing, mandate, and direct, real-time access to the President. George Mitchell may not have seen success in Northern Ireland had he been appointed a decade earlier. The limited success General Gration experienced in Sudan came after a wave of failed envoy missions in the country. Still, these officials do have the ability to move standstill conflict toward constructive solution.

Could an envoy make the difference in Congo?

Unlike resident diplomats (ambassadors), envoys are not appointed to make friends. When the content is too sensitive for diplomats and too complex and time sensitive for the president to address, the envoy is the frictionless plane of conflict resolution.

When it comes to the Great Lakes, the division of responsibilities within the State Department is stovepiped by a web of bureaucratic turf battles and competing agendas. Here’s what the State Department’s chain of command looks like:

1) General responsibility for Congo flows through the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central and Southern Africa.
2) Regional security issues, such as Lord’s Resistance Army, and Congolese democracy and human rights, runs through the Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Africa. (This position is currently vacant.)
3) The Deputy Assistant Secretary responsible for regional economic issues (i.e. conflict minerals) hails from the West Africa division.

These three areas of interest could and SHOULD be coordinated by a single, empowered envoy reporting to an American executive.  Why? Because all of these tasks are inevitably interrelated. For example, we cannot consider Congolese security without considering conflict minerals. If we want the government to stop intimidating opposition parties –which is currently happening according to the ICG report— our envoy gets on the phone and says, “Hey, Mr. President of Congo. We provide your government with a huge portion of its annual budget. We will revoke this aid unless you stop this nonsense.” BAM.

We firmly believe that the right envoy could change the course of history. You don’t? Great! Ask questions now. Challenge us to educate better, because on October 3rd we are going to rattle the cage again. Stay tuned.

-Kate Morris

ICG Reports on Eastern Congo Before Elections

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

Two days ago, the International Crisis Group released a briefing on Congo, titled “The Electoral Process Seen from the East.” With just under 3 months until Election Day in the DRC, the report identified some key points to consider as the date approaches.

The ICG describes “latent and widespread suspicion in the opposition and civil society” stemming from the East and spreading on a national scale. This is in reaction to a 6.3 million increase in voter registration – up a whopping 24.5% since the 2006 elections. The ICG’s report identifies fake and unlawful registration taking place and calls on the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) and MONUSCO –the UN peacekeeping mission to Congo— to assist in increasing transparency and safety in the lead up to the November vote.

The report also names the Ituri and North and South Kivu regions as areas to pay close attention to, namely because they are the sole regions in Congo still harboring armed militia groups. But there is also a more strategic, political element that exists in the East. In 2006, Orientale (including Ituri) and the Kivus provided incumbent Joseph Kabila with over 90% support. Now, due to persistent insecurity in these provinces, this balance has shifted significantly since 2006. An active opposition favoring candidate Vital Kamerhe, former chair of the National Assembly, has risen in these former pro-Kabila areas. Already there have been accounts of intimidation and pressure on Kamerhe supporters.

The lack of transparency and trust between political groups and civil society leaders in Congo’s eastern regions “has generated suspicion on a national scale that risks developing into a crisis of confidence in the whole electoral process.” In order to avoid widespread chaos, and to promote a free and fair vote, the ICG listed a number of ways to increase trust and security on the ground.

ICG called on the international community (you, me, Obama, your teacher, the State Department, the EU, China, etc.) to pay close attention to the elections, especially in rural areas.

The INEC needs to increase transparency, and honor the electoral code from now until the last vote gets counted.

MONUSCO needs to be present both in force and ideology. The UN peacekeeping mission must promote political freedom and a healthy dialogue between the INEC, political candidates, and civil society leaders in order to build trust leading up to the vote. They are also responsible for distributing electoral materials in a timely fashion, and maintaining order where armed militia groups are active.

This information is essential as we prepare for these historic elections. International involvement holds Congolese leaders accountable for their actions. Start talking, start engaging, and be sure to make some noise.

 

Photo Credit: Great Paranoiac (July 2006)

A Moral from the Oysters

Friday, September 2nd, 2011
YouTube Preview Image

Last week I came across Alice in Wonderland’s, “The Walrus and the Carpenter” for the first time since childhood. What struck me was I had blacked out one little detail that shocked me upon the re-watch. Know which part I mean? That the adorable little bonnet-wearing, rosy-cheeked oysters are punished for their curiosity by DEATH?!

They did not deserve that. They were kind, innocent, small things that should have been given a chance.

You mean my reaction is not a realistic portrait of every day life?

I guess these oysters make me question whether or not we over-coddle the coddled. It’s easier not to show death, not to remember death. But, on the other hand, if we’re creating a world in which death is no longer a possibility to a growing imagination, are we setting ourselves up for an apathetic generation?

I am not a proponent of Disney being an anchor of moral ethics. That being said, Disney was certainly a formative pillar of our generation. Let’s just say I’m never the only one singing along to Aladdin’s, “A Whole New World.”

There probably isn’t a right or wrong answer. Nations that face death regularly don’t necessarily rebel more. But I do think that those who are connected to death as a reality engage with more commitment.

Take 1968. The same students who saw their brothers, peers, and loved ones drafted to serve in Vietnam faced tear gas and police dogs in the name of peace. This same generation braved the violence in the streets of America in the fight for civil equality.

Things have definitely changed for the better. We have medicine that allows us to enjoy life longer, standards of safety in the work place, and unions that make sure employees are treated fairly. I guess what I’m searching for is an answer to how we get back to successful, peaceful, outspoken rebellion. It comes with ideology, but it also requires a commitment that is hard to justify these days.

I’m not saying ramp up the violence in family films, but maybe if we were not all so preoccupied with our own survival on a daily basis we’d have a chance to see the bigger picture. If we grow up without being able to relate to death –an integral part of life– it is difficult to connect to wars that persist in far off countries.

Right? Or better yet, what is your answer for actively and persistently engaging?

–Kate Morris