I am not surprised by today’s story in The New York Times about Russians not clamoring to see President Obama as people have in other countries. While even the U.S. still has to grapple with zenophobia, closed nations with state-controlled media are even more distrustful of “the other.” My Bubby and Zayde (grandmother and grandfather in Yiddish) escaped the Tsarist pogroms with my then-young uncle Mersh. More recently, we’ve seen how Chenchens, and Ossetians and Abkhazians have been treated by Russia. We have a long way to go in our own country, but at least we have the advantages of an open society where we freely can voice dissent. But I believe whether here or in other nations, ethnic violence is based... more
Human Rights
The first two days were focused on international issues; the third day, with support from the women of the world, was focused on Liberia’s National Plan of Action. Today continues drawing the relationship among national, regional and international efforts to advance women’s rights in all arenas. This morning we had exactly the powerful start needed to make that connection. We saw a production of Speak Truth to Power. Right after the performance, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and presented awards to representatives of the Liberian women’s organizations that had made peace possible and now continue to press for gender equity in every sector of society. I was deeply moved by the gorgeous symmetry of global and national commitment to basic human... more
