February 2004 • Issue 364


Equality / POEM

You get proud by practising


Power makes you proud, and power
Comes in many fine forms
Supple and rich as butterfly wings.
It is music
when you practise opening your mouth
And liking what you hear
Because it is the sound of your own
True voice.


It is sunlight
When you practise seeing
Strength and beauty in everyone,
Including yourself.
It is dance
when you practise knowing
That what you do
And the way you do it
Is the right way for you
And cannot be called wrong.
All these hold
More power than weapons or money
Or lies?


Remember, you weren’t the one
Who made you ashamed,
But you are the one
Who can make you proud.
Just practise,
Practise until you get proud,
   and once you are proud,
Keep practising so you won’t forget.
You get proud
By practising.

from You get proud by practising by Laura Hershey, poet and disability activist.




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other articles
FROM THIS ISSUE

Strong & smart
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I was born white
Mark Minchinton undertakes a journey back to his – and his country’s – Aboriginal roots.

Equality Watch: Race & Ethnicity

Betrayal
Two years after the liberation of Afghanistan, are its women really free? Report from Mariam Rawi.

Each in their place
There’s caste and there’s class. And in some places the two intertwine. Mari Marcel Thekaekara writes from India, where the struggle for Dalit rights is gathering strength.

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Human rights refer not just to personal civil and political rights, but collective economic, social and cultural ones too. Worldwide, they are more violated than respected.

Breathless in Beijing
Sam Geall reports on broken promises at the Olympics.

Who killed Maksim Maksimov?
Not that no-one knows. Maria Yulikova reports on the brutal assassination of a journalist in Russia.

A guide through the maze
The Declarations, Covenants and Conventions that make up the International Bill of Rights.

Off the buses
The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed).

The eternal minority
The Roma – still widely known as ‘Gypsies’ – have had a raw deal for centuries and are only now starting to raise their voice on the international stage. Eleanor Harding looks at their plight in Romania, while the NI traces their history back to India.






Voices from the margins:

Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.

House of Hunger Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
Raised Voices video:
Atossa Soltani from Brazil on the Climate Change
Desmond Desai from South Africa on Corporate Power
Iranian Women Speak Out
Iranian women speak out
3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
Raised Voices audio:
Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
Vinayan from India on agriculture