brothers who are enemies
19 May, 2008 | No comments | Category: book snip, peace & conflict
And then there are incredible stories that knock u right out of your daily conundrum!
Have you ever heard the bizarre idea about creativity being the most potent weapon individuals have against war?? I thought it was a bit too ‘happily optimistic’ at first…until closer consideration… Ever heard the saying “necessity is the mother of innovation.”? Well, Wednesday’s news made me say: “heck ya!”
The quirky reflection that came to my mind reading the news goes…
“”It is in creativity, in the fashioning of self and world, that people find their most potent weapon against war.”
…1st, meandering to a tiny bit of intro….I first stumbled upon this bizarre concept in Carolyn Nordstrom’s “A different kind of war story” on her experience in the devastating 16-year-long civil war of Mozambique. As an anthropologist, she reflects on the messy nitty-gritties of war, civil society intricacies and the trajectories of individual lives within a land that is plagued with strife and struggle, where people are migrating between refugee camps and daily fearful for their lives…
she says “……ultimately, war victims have taught me, violence is about the destruction of culture and identity in a bid to control/crush political will.” She saw human condition at its ‘lowest’, when people were helpless, vicious, greedy, desperate and deeply disturbed. According to her “It is often in what we relegate to the margins of life process and theory [violence and the unspeakable] that speaks most fundamentally about core aspects of human existence.”
i think it’s real; in times of war, strife and struggle people have very few choices. when they are caught in the most devastating corner of all, they either create ways to survive, maintain/revivie their humanities and fight back…or get sucked in to becoming helpless puppets which push the gears of a viscous ‘war [insert other term] industry’.
According to the book, some resistance tools toward survival, restoring humanity & peace include the care and love in communities, creative expression and non-violence… (more…)
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above belly.underneath heart
7 May, 2008 | 5 comments | Category: love.of.words!, musiqa, poetry
getachew mekuria and susheela raman. “the love trap” an adaptation of Mahmoud Amhed’s “bemin sebeb litlash”
trancing a light curly zigzag
lazily. teasingly. tingling
…lips, finger tips…
half-dreaming colors and warmth
floetry, underneath the heart,
above the belly.
feelings that look like…
gradient orange sunset rays piercing through blazing red fire
surrounded by pulsing rhythms and…
sifting fragile petals of yellow on translucent maroon sashes…
like skipping butterflies as they prance between the deep pit of the belly where feelings reside, and the base of the heart where they overflow.
the depth of the feelings mirror shadows falling creating accents…
provoking a vulnerable smile at the cosy humble fire they stroke…
at the heady euphoria of an embrace
a sweeter crush,
a more delish lushness,
a softer…scrumptious flutter,
a more tasty brush.
feels, textures, tints and tones…
tempting finger tip senses, lip buds, eyes.
skimming along the edge of shoulders exposed to air.
sending a delicious tingle down…
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