A Reprieve From Trump

A REPRIEVE FROM TRUMP

I remember this feeling. It’s mostly relief, but there’s a trace of guilt mixed in. My drunken father is out of the house and I have a reprieve from the constant watchfulness and dread. It’s just dread deferred, really, because he’ll be back. A “reprieve” always implies an end to itself.

The guilt comes from wondering what he’s doing out in the world. I don’t fear for him because I’m so angry I don’t care if he falls and breaks another bone or gets himself fired. But his sickness is out there wreaking God-knows-what havoc on innocent people. Is he going to cause a terrible accident? Is he embarrassing a waitress somewhere? Is he contacting friends to lend him money so he can gamble?

This is how I’m feeling during President Tweet’s world travels. It’s the exact same feeling. I am breathing a sigh of relief that even though his minions in D.C. are trying to do his bidding while he’s away lest he rage at them when he returns, they won’t do anything final without him.

Right now he is the world’s problem. My relief is doubly deep because I’ve escaped to my sweet retreat in the woods of New Hampshire where it’s easier to be in denial.

There’s no TV but I do have internet, so I’ve watched as the man-child shoved aside another country’s prime minister so he could be first in front of the camera, lectured world leaders about their responsibilities while they snickered and whispered to each other, repeatedly upped his bid to be the world’s most domineering hand-shaker, and rudely walked away from President Netanyahu’s outstretched hand. (To be fair, given his statement immediately following this snub, I think he was distracted and stewing over getting caught blabbing Israel’s classified info to the Russians — or it might have been deafness or dementia rather than simple boorishness.)

Yes, it’s embarrassing to have him filling the role of President of the United States and to have newspapers in other countries calling the U.S. a “laughingstock” and demanding his ouster. It’s appalling that he’s out there displaying his ignorance of basic economics and trade policy. And it’s probably more dangerous to have him interacting with important world leaders at the G-7 than to have him tweeting about petty grievances at 3 a.m.

But somehow I feel I can breathe better when he’s not on our shores.

 

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“Twenty Years Ago, He Hacked His Neighbors To Death”

April 7, 2014:

“Twenty years ago today, a man got his hedge trimmers out of his shed, went next door where three children were playing, and hacked them to death: Twenty years ago today, the Genocide in Rwanda began — more than 800,000 people were slaughtered in 100 days by their neighbors, friends, and family.“

So writes Lori Martin, a remarkable friend with whom I traveled to Africa in 2007. Lori fell for the orphans she met in Rwanda, dared to imagine that she could help, and uprooted her whole life to pursue her dream. She now lives a nomadic lifestyle, traveling back and forth between Rwanda and the U.S. and spending several months in Rwanda at a stretch.

Lori and Friends

A year ago, I marked the anniversary of the Genocide with a post about Lori and African Road, the organization she helped found in 2010. This year, I thought I’d ask Lori to share some of her own thoughts on the anniversary.

First, let me just remind you of that number again: 800,000. In 100 days. That is more than the number of Americans who died in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, both World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, and our “war on terror” . . . COMBINED. Remember: Kwibuka.

In Her Own Words

Here’s what Lori has to say from Rwanda on this twentieth anniversary:

“Today begins a week of Remembrance called Kwibuka (remember) in Kinyarwanda, the language of Rwanda. It is a sober time to mourn the dead and honor the traumatized people who survived. Businesses and schools are closed. Parties and celebrations are put off.  People march in the streets and resolve never to allow such a thing to happen again.

I met a friend today (call him Evan) to plan a visit to villages where people are living in poverty, marginalized and discriminated against. He has been championing them for years, fighting for their rights and seeking to meet their needs largely on his own. He is hoping my organization might fund some of his projects to help the people.

I’m sorry to say that Evan was not hearing from me what he wanted to hear. I can’t make promises. Our board needs to discuss. Funds would need to be raised. Of course, that’s all I can say at the moment, but the fact is people continue to suffer while other people have the power to do something about it.

He continues to sound positive – ‘Of course, I understand the process! I know it has to be considered carefully!’ But I see hurt in his eyes. I see anger. He feels righteous anger at the ongoing injustice for these people, and a sense of powerlessness to do anything about it. I can sympathize – I would be hurt and frustrated, too. Injustice makes me angry.

And it just now made sense to me – a way I could get angry enough to hurt someone.

There are many factors that contributed to the Genocide in Rwanda. But I am guessing that people felt some sense of injustice and powerlessness. I look at Evan, trying every day to get help from people who are able, and not getting it. This is unjust, and people are suffering because of this imbalance.

How can we ensure Genocide never occurs again? I have no idea. But I think I understand how Evan feels.“

Children from the Orphans’ Cooperative lead Lori to their meeting room.

You Can Make a Triple Difference!

If you would like to find out more about African Road and the work they do to provide housing for orphans, micro-enterprise business assistance for mothers, and education for young people, please visit the post I wrote about them last year. And here’s excellent news: a generous donor has pledged a matching grant, so if you contribute now, they will double it, — your gift will be tripled! Thanks for considering it. You can donate here. You can also visit and “like” African Road’s  Facebook page.

If you are a blogger, you might want to join Bloggers for Peace, a group of idealistic bloggers who pledge to write about peace at least once a month. If we send enough hope for peace into the cosmos, surely it will return to the earth. See the link below to get started.

 

Related Posts:

https://melanielynngriffin.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/the-plane-crash-that-killed-a-million-people/

http://bloggers4peace.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/kozo-cheri-asks-that-you/

Bloggers for Peace — I urge you to join us!