Amnesty International

I have been a member of Amnesty International since I was in high school; going on
20+ years now. They are an international grassroots human rights organization. Beginning in September 2006 and culminating in April of 2007, I was chosen as a Legislative Delegation Leader to present issues to Congressman Miller's (R-FL01) office regarding the situation in Darfur, Sudan.

I have been lucky enough to be chosen once again as a Legislative Delegation Leader to lead a delegation to Congressman Miller's office regarding the closure of the Guantanamo detention facility and the reform of American immigration detention policy. This delegation and meeting will take place next week. I am hoping to meet with Congressman Miller and express our views.

I am also looking to form a local Amnesty International group. If there is anyone in the Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties area of Florida who would be interested, please let me know. We have no local or student groups here, and I believe we can build a successful local group.

Hiking

I am working on getting a group of people together in the area who are interested in hiking and exploring. I am an avid hiker/backpacker/camper. I have received a few good responses so far and we plan to meet this Saturday morning for coffee to discuss ideas. Right now, we are looking at doing some day hikes, but who knows, we might eventually plan a thru-hike. I know one of the people I am going to meet is interested in hiking the AT (Appalachian Trail) as am I. There are many areas in my area that are wonderful to hike. Primarily trails in the Blackwater State Forest and the Ft. Pickens/Gulf Islands National Seashore area. Last weekend, my daughter and I hiked around Ft. Pickens. We toured the Fort and hiked to all the surrounding batteries. I'm hoping to hit one of the Blackwater trails this coming weekend. Another idea we have talked about is doing some exploring, such as at the Marianna Caverns.

On this note, here's a link to another article I wrote and posted to Helium regarding hiking. This article was about the Garcon Point Trail:

http://www.helium.com/items/1127835-nature-trails-in-northwest-florida

The Ravages of War

Please watch this video from the UNHCR (UN High Commission on Refugees) regarding refugees from the conflict in northern Yemen between goverment forces and the Huthi (Houti) rebels. This is the under-reported truth of the casualties of war:


UNHCR Youtube Video

It's heart-breaking to see this 6 year old's trauma (probably shell shock and PTSD, and she is probably deaf now) resulting from an ordinance explosion.

Sex Trafficking and Some New Thoughts

As many may know, one of the primary human rights issues I am involved with is Human Trafficking, and in particular, sex trafficking. What many may not know is that human trafficking is not limited to trafficking of persons across international borders. Trafficking may also be (and often is) the transporting of persons within their home country. In a previous post I have discussed exactly what trafficking is defined as, so at this time, I am not going to go over that again (although I may at a later date). The point I am getting to here is that many Americans are surprised to learn that there are victims of trafficking within our country. In fact, the horrific truth is that any city (yes, that means yours too) has victims of trafficking. The reason I mention this is to appeal to those who might be inclined to participate in organizations who actively work to stop trafficking and to rescue and restore victims of trafficking. There are a great many organizations out there who are doing wonderful work combatting human trafficking in their city or region. I recently came across another one. This organization is not limited to just combatting trafficking domestically. They work internationally as well. In fact, their work began in India. The organization is Shared Hope International. Their founder, Linda Smith, is a former US Congresswoman who was introduced to the horrors of sex trafficking in India and made it her lifelong work to prevent trafficking and to rescue and restore victims. You can visit their website at:

http://www.sharedhope.org/


I recently ordered Linda's book, "From Congress to Brothel." It is a compelling and emotionally difficult book to read. But, It Is A Must Read!

I also want to share another group that I like, Stand Up For Kids. While they are not working specifically in the area of human/sex trafficking, the work they are doing is certainly making an impact in that area. I have volunteered with them before and am currently seeking to volunteer further and perhaps start a local chapter in my area. Stand Up For Kids mission is primarily outreach to homeless/runaway children and to offer resources to that same group of people. One interesting fact that I learned in Linda Smith's book is that typically, a runaway is contacted by a pimp within 48 hours of running away. These pimps attempt to lure or coerce young girls into prostitution.

Yes, that's right. So many people look at "prostitutes" as criminals. They often see these girls as having chosen their lifestyles or perhaps deserve their lifestyles. Often, far too often, nothing could be further from the truth. I will save an indepth discussion of this for another post. However, I recommend visiting Shared Hope International's and Stand Up For Kid's websites to learn more. Stand Up For Kid's website is:

http://www.standupforkids.org/

I hope that some readers may be moved to volunteer with one of these organizations or, if that is not possible, donate a little money to further their wonderful work!

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes...

I am always amazed at the way my daughter's mind works (and really all children). Tonight, she was reading a book about Tigers. At the end of the book was a "What Do You Think" section that discussed the pros and cons of keeping tigers (and really all animals) in captivity in zoos. So the question was whether tigers should be kept in captivity in zoos or should they be allowed to roam in their natural habitats. The first thing that she said was, "Well, we don't keep people in zoos, so why should we keep animals in zoos? That's not fair." I was just floored at the insight that one sentence revealed, regardless of whether one thinks it's okay to keep animals in zoos or not.

I am costantly on the road so i am setting up mobile blogger this is a test run lets see if this works

Article about Human Trafficking

An article I wrote about the issue of Human Trafficking and posted to Helium.com on June 21, 2007.

http://www.helium.com/items/410050-modern-day-slavery-and-human-trafficking-in-the-us-and-around-the-world

Article about equal pay for women

This is an article I wrote concerning equal pay for women and posted to Helium.com on June 26, 2007. This article was also published as an Viewpoint piece in the Santa Rosa Press Gazette (Santa Rosa County, Florida).

http://www.helium.com/items/419125-should-us-companies-be-required-to-provide-equal-pay-to-women-and-men

Santa Rosa Press Gazette article:

www.srpressgazette.com/opinion/pay-899-women-society.html

Article about Burma

An article I wrote about events that took place in Burma and posted to Helium.com on September 26, 2007.

http://www.helium.com/items/615177-burmese-monks-apply-political-pressure-what-next-for-myanmar

Article about the Democratic Republic of Congo

This is an article I wrote about the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and posted to the Helium.com website on October 3, 2007.

http://www.helium.com/items/627684-crisis-in-the-congo