Happy Holidays from The Culture Shop

2007 has but a few days remaining before it becomes a memory. But before we bid the year adieu, there is this miraculous month called December, which, as it winds down, allows us to reflect on its historical significance. Ancient stories of births, deaths, triumphs, and varying forms of religious persecution dating back thousands of years have made December a month like no other.

Reflecting on where we've been, where we are, and equally important, where we are going offers us an opportunity to take stock of our very existence - assessing why we are still around while others more worthy have transitioned.

December, fortunately, offers us the audacity to be hopeful, even in the face of tremendous injustice in our homes, neighborhoods, communities, nation, and yes, our world.So as we bring the year to a close and make plans for 2008, it is important to never lose sight of the significance of this very special Season of Thanksgiving. Love and respect for our fellow human beings are the cornerstones of a fair and equitable society.

May we always remember that there can be no peace for all without truth and justice for all. As Maya Angelou reminds us, "...one cannot legislate love, but what one can do is legislate fairness and justice...." We at The Culture Shop thank you and wish you and your family God's richest blessings this Season of Thanksgiving. May your hearts always be filled with the overflowing light of love and respect - not just during the month of December - but throughout the many tomorrows that lay ahead.

The Deadliest War in the World

A May 2006 TIME Magazine article calls the devastation in Congo, "The Deadliest War in the World." The story goes on to read as follows: "Some wars go on killing long after they end. In Congo, a nation of 63 million people in the heart of Africa, a peace deal signed more than three years ago was supposed to halt a war that drew in belligerents from at least eight other countries, producing a record of human devastation unmatched in recent history.

Furthermore, "The International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimates that 3.9 million people have died from war-related causes since the conflict in Congo began in 1998, making it the world's most lethal conflict since World War II."

A vast country with immense economic resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has been at the centre of what could be termed Africa's world war - the largest war in modern African history, and one of the deadliest conflicts since World War II.

Despite a formal end to the war in July 2003 and an agreement by the former belligerents to create a government of national unity, 1,000 people died daily in 2004 from easily preventable cases of malnutrition and disease. A U.N. human rights expert reported in July 2007 that sexual atrocities against Congolese women go 'far beyond rape' and include sexual slavery, forced incest, and cannibalism.

An October 8, 2007 story on Democracy Now titled the horrow, "They Are Destroying the Female Species in Congo": Sexual Terrorism and Africa's Forgotten War.

The devastation must stop; America must act now.

The Jena Six: Is Lady Justice Blind or Peeking Through One Eye?

England's Guardian newspaper title their story: Racism goes on trial again in America's Deep South.

The world takes notice of America's contradictory legal policies against its own citizens.

::June 26, 2007 - The district attorney prosecuting a racially charged beating case in the small Louisiana town of Jena abruptly reduced attempted-murder charges Monday against a black high school student accused of attacking a white student." - Chicago Tribune

::September 15, 2007 - "With the prospect of a major national civil rights protest looming next week in the central Louisiana town of Jena, a state appeals court on Friday abruptly vacated the felony conviction of a black teenager accused of beating a white student in a case fraught with racial tensions." - Chicago Tribune

In a small, highly segregated, rural Louisiana town of Jena in September 2006, a small group of black students asked permission from school administrators to sit under the shade of a tree commonly reserved for the enjoyment of white students. School officials advised the black students to sit wherever they wanted - and they did.

The next day, three nooses, in the school colors, were hangingfrom the same tree. The Jena high school principal found that three whitestudents were responsible and recommended expulsion. The white superintendent of schools over-ruled the principal and gave the students a three day suspension, saying that the nooses were "a youthful stunt."

Black students decided to resist and organized a sit-in under the tree to protest the lenient treatment given to the noose-hanging white students. Racial tensions remained elevated throughout the fall. On Monday, December 4 2006, a white student who allegedly had been racially taunting black students, in support of the students who hung the nooses, got into a fight with black students. Allegedly knocked unconscious, the white student was taken to the hospital treated, released, and reportedly attended a social function later that evening.

As a result of this incident, six black Jena students were arrested andcharged with attempted second degree murder. All six were expelled from school. The six charged were:

On the morning of the trial, the District Attorney reduced the charges from attempted second degree murder to second degree aggravated battery andconspiracy. Aggravated battery in Louisiana law demands the attack be with adangerous weapon. The prosecutor was allowed to argue to the jury that the tennis shoes worn by Bell could be considered a dangerous weapon.

America? The world is watching.

American University professor, Richard Stack, will speak to this topic, as well as introduce his latest book, Dead Wrong: Violence, Vengeance & the Victims of Capital Punishment. Copies will be available for purchase. We look forward to seeing you and hearing your perspective on crime and punishment. Light refreshments to be served.

Location: The Culture Shop (1/2 block from Takoma Metro Station)

Address: 341 Cedar Street, NW

Date: September 29, 2007; 6pm-8pm

Telephone: 202 726 2211 RSVP:

Required. Space is limited.

Iraq in Crisis

Does the U.S. government have a social and moral responsibility to admit Iraqi refugees who have aided American troops in the on-going struggle?

The Bush Administration has been under pressure to let more Iraqi refugees move to the United States. Now the administration is getting ready to admit up to 7,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of September 2007. Humanitarian groups have said the United States has a moral duty to admit more Iraqi refugees because the US invasion preceded the crisis. In the years after the Vietnam War, the United States admitted 900,000 Vietnamese refugees.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who opposes President Bush's effort to increase troops levels in Iraq, said the administration is spending $8 billion a month on the war, but has budgeted only $20 million this year to help the estimated 2 million Iraqis who have fled to Jordan, Syria, and other countries. There is a growing cry for the U.S. to increase by at least 20,000 the number of Iraqi refugees eligible for resettlement in the United States in 2007 and 2008.

A July 2007 article from Refugees International states the following:

Neighboring countries are being overwhelmed by the massive influx of Iraqi refugees. Syria and Jordan are rapidly becoming overwhelmed by the numbers of Iraqis seeking refuge in their urban centers. Jordan, Lebanon and Syria consider Iraqis as “guests” rather than refugees fleeing violence. None of these countries allows Iraqis to work. Although Syria is maintaining its “open door policy” in the name of pan-Arabism, it has begun imposing restrictions on Iraqi refugees, such as charges for healthcare that used to be free. In Jordan, Iraqis have to pay for the most basic services, and live in constant fear of deportation. It is also becoming increasingly difficult for Iraqis to enter Jordan or to renew their visas to remain in country.

And a February 2003 briefing paper from Human Rights Watch titled Iraqi Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Displaced Persons: Current Conditions and Concerns in the Event of War eerily forcasted the deteriorating conditions that were likely to happen should war errupt in the region.

How should the U.S. handle this crisis? We want to hear from you.

This Election Could "Make or Break Sierra Leone."

The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone, according to most sources, is the potential for political insecurity surrounding the elections of 11 August 2007.

Ninety-one percent of the country’s 2.8 million eligible voters have registered to cast a vote for their future. Fifty-six percent of them are under the age of 32 while women account for 49 percent.

So with the future of the country as stable as plutonium, where do you turn? Well, to the future, of course. With 56% of eligible voters under the age of 32, you must reach this group through music.

"Music is one of the most important resources of Sierra Leone," said UNDP Resident Representative in Sierra Leone Victor Angelo. "Artists for Peace represent what is best about the country and the UN is proud to support them so that the message of peace reaches all the citizens of the country," he said.

The group calls themselves Artists for Peace, and they represent more than a dozen well-known area musicians who will be touring the Sierra Leone countryside in a series of peace-promoting concerts.

Akin to anti-war activism @ UC Berkeley in the '60s, the Chicano Student Movement in the 70s, or the Tiananmen Square protests of the late 80s, the message being promoted by Artists for Peace is best described by their spokesman, Haroun Ahkim Dumbya a.k.a. Wahid. "If we pick up guns and fight each other again then the country will break. We want to be part of the making."

The current cabinet was appointed following the May 2002 presidential and parliamentary elections. Since that date there have been several changes.

Sierra Leone is one of the first beneficiaries of the United Nation’s new Peacebuilding Fund, launched last October to ensure that countries emerging from war and conflict do not relapse back into strife. Let us keep the country in our prayers.

Reuniting the Rwandan People

Painful and horrific as the 1990 to 1993 genocide was between the Batutsis and the Bahutus of Rwanda, the more devastating story of the end of the African continent and its people began over 100 years prior, during the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 to divide Africa. This is a facinating historical guide that I encourage everyone to read during a quiet moment.

Nonetheless, let's fast-forward to the present and highlight the good works being done to bring hope to countless people within Rwanda who desparately need our help.

Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa and is landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. In 1994, there were very few functioning schools, hospitals, or factories. Public utilities like telephones, electricity and water were largely non existent. There was total displacement of the population, both internally and externally.

The road out of their current strain is the same road most of us travel without thought each day - education. We've all heard of the tremendous work Oprah is doing in South Africa and throughout the world. Well, there are many Oprahs in our global communities.

But out of despair comes hope and an opportunity to rebuild and create an even stronger community. And it all starts with, what else, education. The Maranyundo School for Girls in Nyamata, Rwanda is one such story.

The Culture Shop is excited to help the School through the purchase of Rwandan coffee from Thousand Hills Coffee Company, which was "formed to supply the United States with quality Arabica coffee from Rwanda and to help subsidize and promote the Rwanda Middle School Project."

As the rich blend of The Thousand Hills Coffee aroma fills the Shop's cafe area, you cannot help but have a "Calgon" moment. Your purchase of this coffee, whole bean or ground, will directly support the school project - which is slated to open for classes January 2008. Please call ahead or order online - we'll always have a bag waiting for you.

Thank you - from the children of Nyamata, Rwanda.

Why Should We Care About the Girls?

Who Cares About Girls? is a series that explores how the world treats girls. Hosted by award-winning journalist Lisa Ling and produced by National Geographic Television, the 2nd program in the series is titled Hiden Away: Slave Girls of India and aired on The Oxygen channel (who knew such a station existed) a few weeks back. Other installments will follow in 2007.

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which this year is focusing on discrimination and violence against girls, has convened multiple panels to begin discussing issues ranging from rape, trafficking and prostitution to education, child labor and AIDS.

"The most important message is that governments should ensure that every working child gets a free education," said Sunita Tamang, lamenting that in her community in Nepal "people think that if you educate a girl child, it will only embarrass you."

Jordanian student Golfidan Khader Al Abassy described the discrimination against girls in families, schools and in the workplace in her country.

"I hope it will be in the near future that we will have the same opportunities as boys," she said. "The most important message which I want to send for all over the world ... (is) that the girls have a lot of power ... so if we give them the chance to prove themselves, they will be great persons. ... We have to believe in them."