Labor Day

In honor of Labor Day, I thought these words from Argentine were fitting.  Here they are translated into English and in the video you can listen to Argentine speaking in Swahili.  

"Me, I am thanking God very much because of this work we have... Before we had a very poor life...we were sewing in a shop...and they were "eating us" (taking advantage of us). We didn't even have the hope that we could get work...work that we could see is helping us and helping our families."

Those words strike me...
"work that we could see is helping us and helping our families."  What a seemingly small thing to ask for.  The video continues and Argentine goes on to list all the things that they do with the money they earn.  She mentions "small things" like buying vegetables to eat and soap to wash their children's clothes.  And then she talks about the money having made it possible for them to flee Congo when the war escalated and find safety in a refugee camp.  And then she goes on to say that she probably would have died in child birth if she hadn't had the money from her work to pay for a good hospital and medicine.  Finally she points to the young woman sitting behind her in the video, with the baby. She explains that this  is her sister in law with a new baby, who has also fled the war, and who Argentine is providing for through her earnings.

To my American mind it is a scattered list with vegetables and laundry soap in between references to near-death experiences.  And yet in a world like Congo it makes perfect sense.  On the edge of poverty and war, there are no small things.  Buying vegetables is as vital as fleeing war.  And the SHONA Congo women have done both through your purchases.

In honor of Labor Day we would like to thank each of you for creating a world where Mapendo, Argentine, Solange, and Riziki can labor and reap the fruit of their labor.  Thank you for supporting the work of their hands.  
   

Steve Jobs. Our Hero?

In interest of full disclosure, I have never owned an Apple device.

So maybe I am just missing something.

But the current conversations about Steve Jobs are starting to get under my skin.

I know he was a great business man, and that he built not just Apple, but also Pixar, into very impressive companies.

And I am sorry for the loss, to his wife and children and to all those who loved him.

But I am a bit bewildered by the fact that everyone seems to have loved him. Of course, I would expect to find that on the business page of the New York Times, or in eulogies by technology experts.

But I'm talking about regular people. For example, I am surprised at how many of my Facebook friends have posted very personal and passionate messages about about his death.

People are saying that we have not only lost “a great visionary”, but “a leader who completely changed the way we interact with our world”. I mean, these aren't media quotes, this is what regular people are saying. And feeling. That Steve Jobs somehow personally changed their lives.

I've read some of the speeches he has given and he was a wise and well-spoken man. I could understand that people might mourn the loss of Steve Jobs as a role model, a businessman or an innovator to emulate.

But the vast majority of people aren't even talking about that. They are talking about the products Steve Jobs (and his company) created. They're talking about this man with deep love, because he was the creator of commercial products that they love. In essence it is a celebration of iPods, iPads and iPhones. As though our lives could never have been the same, nor nearly as rich, without these products.

Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmental activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, died a few days before Steve Jobs. She was a woman who fought to literally reclaim our environment, by planting trees. Moreover she sought to empower local, grassroots communities to re-imagine their place in the world and their ability to enact change in the world around them. In the words that have been used to describe Steve Jobs she “completely changed the way people interact with the world around them.” And by that, I mean the real, physical world, this planet on which we live, and the power structures that often overtake it.

Yet, suffice it to say, I have seen far more comments on Facebook about the loss of Steve Jobs than the loss of Wangari Maathai. That is true even among my African Facebook friends. Most of whom, I'm pretty sure, have never owned an Apple device. And more frighteningly, I have seen more celebration of the “amazing, brilliant, world-changing work” of Steve Jobs than of that of just about anyone else.

Is this what makes a hero in our society? Brilliant commercial products? It this what we've learned to love and celebrate? Apple products are cool and trendy and innovative. They offer some real advantages. But I have also heard many news pieces citing the fact that Steve Jobs was amazing because he took a product, the iPad, that researches insisted the public simply did not need, and made it popular. Is this really to be celebrated?

Apple products are highly priced, heavily branded, and certainly part of our tendency toward conspicuous-consumption. Each new Apple release is surrounded by so much hype that one can hardly help but believe they have reinvented the moon. And each new release inspires endless talk from friends about whether they should upgrade to the latest version of the iPhone. Really? I'm just not convinced that this is the kind of “world-change” that I am looking for.

Most of Apple's products are produced in China, in factories that have come under serious scrutiny for high suicide rates, unsafe working conditions, and unreasonable working hours. No doubt this is an issue that applies not only to Apple but to the companies that make much of what we consume, whether it is electronics, clothing or food. Still, it seems to me that in some way we have become so enamored with the Apple's much-lauded effect on our digital worlds that we are willing to overlook Apple's effect on our real world.

The people who make Apple products work in the real world, in conditions that we are largely unaware of, and should be opposed to. Meanwhile, our own country is spiraling toward higher and higher rates of unemployment. We are angry with the government for not fixing the economy, but what about all of the companies that despite massive profits, choose to have their products manufactured outside this country in pursuit of ever lower wages and lax regulations? And ultimately, what about all of us, the consumers, who are so willing not only to embrace these products, but to celebrate them as world-changing?

The digital world is amazing. I appreciate blogging on it. I appreciate its ability to bring the SHONA women to you. But if your purchases from SHONA helped the women only in a digital world, and not in their real physical world, would you really be so excited about your purchases?

Our effect in the digital world has to connect to our effect in the real world. I have no doubt that Apple products are beautiful examples of technology. But we must start to demand more of the products we consume and the companies we lionize. We must start to examine their effect in the real world, both here and abroad.

Right now, the Occupy Wall Street Protests are slowly starting to spread and gain momentum. I think there is a lot to be said about their demand that we hold corporations accountable. But ultimately we also have to hold ourselves, as consumers, accountable. When we find ourselves falling in love with consumer products, and turning their creators into our heroes, perhaps we should reassess our own values as well.

Black History Month and African Clothes

"Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others."
Rosa Parks



What do black history month and the SHONA women have in common?

Quite a lot actually.

While living in Congo, and working with the SHONA women I taught them about Harriet Jacobs. We talked about this courageous young slave woman, who ran away from her "master" and hid in a crawl space above a house for 7 years. She hid in a space where she could not stand upright, literally depriving herself of the ability to stand or walk.

The SHONA women too have been deprived of the ability to stand and walk. For Argentine, Riziki, and Solange growing up with polio meant that they could only crawl. Today, finally, with the help of the handicapped center in Goma, they can stand with metal braces and crutches. But for a long time that was impossible.

They have also all had the experience of hiding. Growing up in the midst of war zones, and even today when they return to visit their families in rural areas, they are only too accustomed to the sound of gun-shots, the bolting of doors, and the hunkering down.

Harriet Jacobs' story resonated with the SHONA women.

But perhaps what struck the SHONA women most was the book itself. I showed them Harriet Jacobs' book, with her own words inside. Harriet Jacobs came out of slavery to write her own story. You could see the glimmer in the ladies eyes as they passed their hands over the cover.

Sometimes, as an American living abroad I have deeply regretted so much of the American "example" to the world...the war in Iraq, the corporate greed, the growing gap between rich and poor...

And surely slavery is one of those terrible examples. But I am thankful for the countless African-American lives who have reclaimed that story, and turned it into one of struggle and triumph. Surely those many African American voices are some of America's greatest strengths.

I am thankful for black history month. For the opportunity it gives to reflect on the struggles that have been fought over generations, and the powerful voices that have been forged in the midst of those struggles.

If you wear African clothing as part of your celebrations, or simply as part of your life, would you consider wearing clothing sewn by the SHONA women, women who are still struggling to find a way to make their voices heard, but who definitely have a story to tell. Your purchases make a huge difference to them.

Want to be more involved?

SHONA is the most grassroots of organizations. We are just a small group of women joining hands. Determined to do what we can. Making the world in front of us better.

But it is amazing what we have accomplished. What we are accomplishing. What many of you have helped make possible.
It is real change and real lives.

And we can't do it without you. SHONA's growing and we have lots of exciting things on the horizon. But we are looking for a few more people who want to get involved. We're not looking for donations, or even sales (although we always appreciate them).

What we are looking for is a few people willing to donate some time, some energy, some excitement to these amazing women.

Don't worry about what skills you have. The question is do you love these women? Those are the people we are looking for. If you have got that, and some time you are willing to share, we'd love to hear from you.

"Be the change that you want to see in the world"

Please email us at dhurley@shonacongo.com and we'll get back to you soon.

It truly is amazing what we can accomplish together.

Conflict minerals and Conflict Capitalism

I have recently been writing a series of blog entries related to "Conflict Minerals".

It could be that I am just trying to drive traffic to this blog and cash in on what has been termed one of the "biggest buzz" words of 2009.

But I believe strongly that our focus on the conflict mineral trade deserves scrutiny, not because it is inherently wrong, but because it is incomplete. Our concern about the way that minerals are sourced in Congo needs to be part of a larger concern about the way products are sourced, produced, and distributed around the world. I would argue that in the same breath that we talk about conflict minerals we should be talking about conflict corn, conflict fish and conflict cars, but more on that in my next entry.

For now one reader takes it even one step further with a look at our whole economic system and describes "conflict capitalism". If you think this position is taking it too far, check out a fascinating excerpt from the book Hoodwinked.

I'd love to hear more of your thoughts. Shall we take that popular buzz word and go global? When we talk about Conflict Minerals should we also be talking about Conflict Corn? Or shall we drop the specification all together and talk about "Conflict Capitalism"? Is the focus on one particular product positive, in that it gives us something that we feel we can actually do to change the system? Or is it negative, in that it ignores the larger problem? Check out the thought-provoking comment below and I'd love to hear some more voices weigh in.

"What you are identifying is that the issue is really "conflict capitalism"--the division of labor of the world's economic system depends upon inequities and relies on supply chains which are often exploited by state and non-state entities to extract surpluses either by explicit force or its implication. We in the United States, but also elites throughout the world, are often the ignorant beneficiaries of these supply chains.

The recent emphasis upon "fair trade" or the desire to expose the blood adhering to diamonds, coltan or other conflict minerals, are simplified means of alerting people in the west to the moral implications of their consumer choices. This is not a bad step in the wrong direction, if it offers a wider critique of the conflict inherent and inevitable in the way in which goods and wealth are distributed world wide. In other words, if we don't feel that by buying "fair trade coffee" or not purchasing "blood diamonds" we have done our part.

What the focus upon "blood diamonds" or conflict minerals does, and what your blog reveals is that it misdirects attention away from not only the local complexities of deeply intractable conflicts, mostly for the purpose of assuaging western guilt and to encourage simplistic fund-raising calls, but these approaches misdirect the attention from the underlying conflict which must and inevitably will result from neoliberal international policies which enrich us at the expense of the matatu tout, the water carrier, the coca cola vendor on the street, the second-hand clothing peddler, the coltan and diamond miner, the coffee producer, and on and on." (Thanks for the comment Dean!)