Human Rights Awareness Through Movies

Every day there are human rights violations occurring around the world; someone is suffering at the hands of someone or some institution. The biggest in the news recently has been the turmoil in Syria. It is certainly a shame that so many innocent lives have to be claimed due to a struggle for political power. People have a right to voice their opinion without getting killed, and they have a right to life, life that someone else has no right to take away. And let's not forget the women in Pakistan who were allegedly killed for "singing" at a wedding because they were not "behaving" according to the conservative traditions of the tribe. Tragic.

But sometimes the news does't impact us as much as the movies we see. Movies make us laugh, move us to tears, touch our hearts, and provoke us to think more than we ever realize. Movies convey values and ideologies in a context where we we can relate; or they enable us to project ourselves into those contexts so that we empathize with what's going on as well as with the characters. I think documentaries and films are an integral part of creating human rights and social justice awareness among people.

So here are some upcoming films in the Long Island area that are related to social justice issues and human rights:


Gasland: this Saturday (6/9)  from 7-9:15, in Babylon, free admission. The movie looks at the controversial issue of fracking.

The Harvest: next Wednesday 6/13 at 7:30 pm, in Huntington, $15 including a reception. This movie looks at the plight of migrant child farmworkers in the US. This film is actually from the same director as The Dark Side of Chocolate, and he will be there in person.

Human Rights Watch Film Festival - New York: June 14 - 28 at the Lincoln Center in New York City, sponsored by Human Rights Watch. Films feature a variety of human rights issues; go to the page for more information on the movies. 

Cashmere at a high price: desertification

I was recently made aware of this situation, although from the looks of things, it has gone on for a while as is usually the case. I always liked cashmere because as thin as the sweater was, I'd be quite warm. Of course I didn't always have it because it was expensive to buy (expensive for me that is); but now I know exactly how expensive it is. Now I won't buy cashmere at all. And I hope you won't either.

Cashmere is generally supplied by few countries around the world and comes from a breed of goats. Mongolia is one of the largest suppliers for cashmere. And as such, many Mongolian herders choose to raise cashmere goats. And why not? It's very profitable and with a significant portion of the country's population living at or below the poverty line, it enables people to make a living as best as they can. But these goats can graze quite heartily, and I mean heartily! Goats are known to chew not just the tips of grass and plants but also through to the roots. And as the number of goats have grown, you can imagine what that does to the habitat, which was limited from the beginning. Take a look here. As the grazing land disappears, the desert creeps in. And while populations of man and goat grow, land that can sustain agriculture and grazing diminishes. As desertification creeps in, challenges to sustain a living creep in as well, not to mention the damage that has been done to the environment. Eventually, one can imagine that the damage caused by desertification will be so great that it will be irreversible and many of these people will have no way to sustain themselves and their families. So perhaps we can help in what small ways we can by not purchasing cashmere and reducing the demand, while the government and other agencies in Mongolia determine how they can involve the locals to work out their own future in harmony with the environment.

Here's an article that came out in 2010.... A bit dated I know, but the most recent I can currently find that's on the topic.