"...The blazing sun in the colorless sky
Dissolves
our sorrow in a wave of warmth.
Its
burning rays will help to dry forever
The
flood of tears shed by our ancestors,
Martyrs
of the tyranny of masters..."
-
Patrice Lumumba
Solitary confinement is torture. RATIO will raise awareness for The Unseen and The Unheard; linking human rights abuses at home to human rights abuse overseas.
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT OF MEN IN TAMMS “SUPER MAX”A maximum security prison in Southern Illinois
TAMMS TEN YEAR CAMPAIGN
SEXUAL ABUSE AS SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
International Rescue Committee
Each year, the board of Raising Awareness To Inspire Others chooses a humanitarian cause that has been neglected in the mainstream press. A cause that requires an increase in awareness to avert disaster, and yet remains accessible to trust-worthy, efficient aid organizations that can help those people affected.
This season, we've selected the plight of those warehoused in solitary confinement. By this we mean not only the solitary confinement of those in prison; but the confinement of those who are silent and unseen as undocumented and/or trafficked workers, as well as those confined by the shame and torture of sexual abuse.
For the past two years RATIO has worked to raise funds and awareness for the plight of refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Darfur, Sudan. This season we will continue this mission, but with a focus on the epidemic of rape that is devastating the women and children of D.R. Congo.
The Democratic Republic of Congo
According to the United Nations, 27,000 sexual assaults were reported in 2006 in South Kivu Province alone, and that may be just a fraction of the total number across the country. Many of these women are ostracized from their families and suffer in silence. André Bourque, a Canadian consultant who works with aid groups in eastern Congo said, ''Sexual violence in Congo reaches a level never reached anywhere else. It is even worse than in Rwanda during the genocide.' 'NY Times October 7, 2007
(Click here to find out more about the women of D.R. Congo) Rationale
Because we live in an increasingly globalized, world human rights abuses overseas do not occur in a bubble that is separate from our own existence. On the contrary, human rights abuses are connected through an ever increasing and complex web of global economies. This year RATIO will begin to shift its focus to causes that exemplify these links. One obvious link is the legacy of modern day slavery and how it manifests itself in our nation’s prison system as well as in the trafficking of human beings world wide.
To this end RATIO has chosen two humanitarian campaigns; TAMMS Ten Year and the International Rescue Committee’s campaign to address human trafficking.
TAMMS TEN YEAR
Tamms Year Ten is a coalition of former prisoners, families of prisoners, artists, and concerned citizens who have come together to protest the conditions at Tamms on this unfortunate anniversary. Opened in March of 1998, Tamms C-Max is located at the southern tip of Illinois, 360 miles from Chicago. Modeled on the supermax at Pelican Bay, California, this partially underground facility was designed to hold up to 500 men in solitary confinement. Conditions in the prison are tantamount to torture.
The United Nations Committee Against Torture criticized the U.S. delegation (in both 2000 and 2006) for the prolonged isolation of prisoners housed in "supermax" prisons:
The Committee remains concerned about the extremely harsh regime imposed on detainees in ‘supermaximum prisons.’ The Committee is concerned about the prolonged isolation periods detainees are subjected to, the effect such treatment has on their mental health, and that its purpose may be retribution, in which case it would constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (Art. 16, 2006)
(Click here to find out more about TY10)
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: HUMAN TRAFFICKING CAMPAIGN
The trafficking of human beings is modern day slavery, and it affects every country on earth. Trafficking is the illegal trade in human beings through force, fraud, coercion, or violence for purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labor and/or other slavery-like practices.
Anywhere from 700,000 to 4 million persons worldwide are trafficked across or within national borders every year. Virtually every country on this planet is affected by trafficking, whether capitalized by traffickers as a source, transit or destination location. Generating roughly $7 billion to $10 billion annually, human trafficking is the fastest growing global criminal industry, with high profits, low risks, minimal capital investment, and a "commodity" that can be used over and over again. (International Rescue Committee Website)
(Click here to find out more about The IRC’s anti-trafficking campaign).
But there is hope!
Efforts are underway that show real promise of changing things for the better. We here at RATIO are inspired by the energy, passion and creative problem solving of human rights organizations and aid agencies LIKE RATIO'S CHOSEN 2008 RELIEF RECIPIENTS, TY10 (TAMMS TEN YEAR) and THE IRC (INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE). Progress in getting aid to the suffering is being made; but timing is critical! Torture is on the forefront of the news and in people’s minds. People are struggling with their consciences and sense of morality. We cannot ignore this problem anymore and more importantly, we are ready to do something about it! Organizations like TY10 and the IRC are in desperate need of funding to bring help to those that need it, and quickly, so as to avoid a deepening of these crises.
Remember, no donation is too small to be felt!
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