“I tend to be a pretty spacey and scattered person, so anything that makes me feel "grounded" comes as a welcome relief.” FeelsPersonsWelcomeReliefGrounded Author:Elaine Equi
“I think the more stability a person has, the more they can follow esoteric or intellectual pursuits.” ThinkingPersonsIntellectualPursuitStabilityEsoteric Author:Elaine Equi
“The inner and outer, the visible and invisible, the abstract and concrete - you've got to get the balance right (not that I do, but it's something to aim for).” BalanceAimInvisibleAbstractVisibleConcrete Author:Elaine Equi
“What people in Burma need is a democratic federal Burma that guarantees autonomy, rights and protection for all, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion or race.” PeopleNeedsRaceRightsDemocraticGenderProtectionGuaranteesAutonomyEthnicityBurma Author:Zoya Phan
“In Burma, we are being told by so-called experts and some governments that we must be patient and that there can be incremental change through Parliament. The UN did this, and failed spectacularly, and while they did, the human rights situation got worse. The dictatorship ignored the UN and international community, making not a single concession. Now we are being told again these Parliaments are new, we should engage with them and if improved they can bring positive change. I don't place any hope in that.” IfsShouldHumansGovernmentCommunitySituationRightsPatientInternationalHuman RightsExpertsDictatorshipIgnoredParliamentBe PatientInternational CommunityPositive ChangeConcessionsBurmaIncremental Change Author:Zoya Phan
“In Burma, economic engagement enriches the regime, as the economy is controlled by the regime. Economic engagement benefits this elite, not ordinary people. The money is spent on the military, stolen by the elite.” PeopleEconomyEconomicMilitaryBenefitsOrdinaryControlledEngagementRegimesElitesStolenOrdinary PeopleBurma Author:Zoya Phan
“In fact, it is the dictatorship's policy that isolates the people of Burma while it reaches out to different countries every year and opens new embassies around the world. It is the dictatorship's policy that kills civilians and makes people poor. As long as the dictatorship is in power, foreign trade and investment in Burma will not benefit people. Instead, it will end up fueling the oppression in Burma.” PeopleWorldYearsLongDifferentEndsCountryFactsPoorPolicyBenefitsTradeInvestmentOppressionAround The WorldReach OutDictatorshipCiviliansDifferent CountriesBurmaEmbassyForeign Trade Author:Zoya Phan
“Strikingly consistent across all of the battles in Sudan's history has been a fundamental conflict over what are and what are not seen as legitimate aspects of Sudanese identity.” Has BeensIdentityBattleConflictAspectFundamentalsConsistentSudan Author:Rebecca Hamilton
“When you are dealing with a mass movement, as opposed to a quote-unquote "elite," you are talking to people who don't have time to read long research papers. You have to communicate with them in sound bites, around every other thing they are doing. So it takes a long time to shift people from one message to the next, especially if your foundational narrative was, "The only one thing in the entire world you should be paying attention to is Darfur."” PeopleIfsWorldShouldLongNextSoundAttentionTalkingOne ThingMovementPaperMessagesMassLong TimeResearchCommunicatePay AttentionNarrativeBitesElitesPapersSound BitesDarfur Author:Rebecca Hamilton
“You have to simplify - there is no other way to reach a mass audience. And you have to feed them evidence of their own success to keep them motivated.” WayAudienceMassEvidenceMotivatedSimplify Author:Rebecca Hamilton