What Do You Tell our Children?
Tragedy is impossible to measure. It's the same for beauty. I sit in my backyard and hear above the graceful soar of the olive ibis. This bird, with a curved pointed beak and rasping call, has a dark beauty. When it speaks it can be heard for miles, Cahaw, Cahaw,...
The Dark Night of Trauma: Finding Light
Rwanda and the USA have one thing in common—violence at home has erupted wildly in the last 30 years. Both countries need immense healing from trauma. You may think of healing as a soft, fuzzy kind of work. Trauma healing can be tender, but even more, it's tough work....
Umuganda Sustains Life
On Saturday I took the 15-cent bus (moomoogee) down to Kigali center. I wanted to buy African fabric, but to my dismay, I found many stores closed--those local stores with hand-made items. Do you want to know why? Soon after President Kagame came to power, he...
Rwanda—Stand Up and Walk
Rwanda is amazing. It rains every other day, mostly the sun beams on the papaya and jacaranda trees. We have power outages many days sometimes for an hour but usually shorter. Birdsong loudly blooms overhead or whenever a clutch of trees clings to the hillside....
Here We Are in Rwanda
Rwanda spilled its greeting on us when we arrived at dusk in Kigale. We watched the vibrant shades of green turn to undulating shadows. The sun bowed below one of the many hills with its checkerboard of houses, corn fields and thickets of papaya/avocado/banana groves....
The Pregnant World
It has arrived. For thousands of years people look forward to this dawn. For the people in darkness have seen a great light. The moon has grown this week from a cupped hand to a dangling half circle—and now, on this longest night, is a protruding a belly, proudly...
Tree of Trust — AVP in Hebron
We had 14 women in an AVP (Alternatives to Violence) workshop on healing from trauma in Hebron, Palestine. The facilitators were Lubna, Manar, Narjah, Miriam and Minga. Eman and Lubna were my translators. This workshop is popular and very much needed. One woman was...
Jesus’ Message in Jericho
So Jesus lives in Palestine. He's born a Jew in Bethlehem and becomes a rabbi in Nazareth. He tries to break the chains of the Occupation and three years later he's killed by the Occupiers in Jerusalem. It's all so real for me. But a whole new chapter in this story of...
Murder & Stones in Jerusalem
Come walk with me in Jerusalem and I'll paint a portrait dabbed with history, blood, and desire. When you visit the Old City use artistic nimbleness. The streets are paved with pale limestone blocks, some as big as the pillow on your bed, shiny and smooth. I walk down...
5th Graders Growing Up During the Occupation
What if from the time we are 5 years old, all problems between people were handled with compassion and clarity? At Ramallah Friends School (RFS) children are empowered to address interpersonal problems. And then they take action to follow-up on the problems. I...