She has worked extensively on themes of conflict. Her series In Our Name depicts images of torture at the hand of U.S. forces. Her Abu Ghraib pieces show the now infamous photographs from that scandal in a different light. In Fires of War, she depicts the bombing of Baghdad in the early 90s. And in her 9/11 work she focuses on, well, 9/11.

Her website describes her work as moving “between the poles of beauty and horror,” and it does. It’s a smart place to be, because it seems she will never run out of material.

I wanted to introduce you to her paintings and I hope you will explore them on her website. In the meantime, enjoy this quote from her about the work she did on Abu Ghraib, taken from her interview with myartspace. (The rest of that interview is very powerful and includes a discussion about art’s inability to spur change in America):

I would first like to quote from Jean Amery’s At the Mind’s Limits: Contemplations by a Survivor on Auschwitz and its Realities.

“Whoever has succumbed to torture can no longer feel a home in the world. The shame of destruction cannot be erased. Trust in the world, which already collapsed in part at the first blow, but in the end, under torture, fully, will not be regained. That one’s fellow man was experienced as the antiman remains in the tortured person as accumulated horror. It blocks the view into a world in which the principle of hope rules.”

When the body is subjected to torture, the protection of the skin dissolves and the self no longer has a safe container; it is afloat and defenseless. I used white chalk to designate the fragility of the victims, who are like the ash-covered figures fleeing the World Trade Center, the body shells from Pompeii or the chalk outlines that mark the place of dead bodies at crime scenes. While the prisoners appear ethereal and are often deprived of sight, the interrogators are massive and accompanied by the accoutrements of power (the gloved hand, the leash, the painful shackles, the attack dogs) which includes the interrogators’ right to see and be seen- both their right to surveillance and the right to be photographed with their human trophies.

May we all become people who move “between the poles of beauty and horror” with eyes wide open and the tools of our art in our hands.

Thank you to Leah Thomason Bromberg – a fantastic painter in her own right – for introducing me to Susan and her lovely work.

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(Photos: “Crouching in Terror” and “Fields of Fire” // Used with permission)

Maybe that’s why I’ve avoided discussing the recent news that a Fairtrade-certified cotton distributor allegedly sold products tainted with forced child labor to the lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret.

(Oh yeah, I also hate the word “tainted.”)

No one has claimed that Victoria’s Secret was aware of the slavery problem, so you can continue judging them only for selling hooker clothes to preteens. But the controversy does bring up the power of Fair Trade certification, or the lack thereof.

When I interviewed Ugly Mug coffee in Memphis, I was stunned by their work in the communities that supply their coffee. Rather than spending all of their time and energy on certification from a group like Fairtrade International, they visit the communities personally and help through direct economic assistance. They support upstart farmers’ co-ops. They also blend Fair Trade and organic coffees into their products to support the movement in whatever way they can until their partnerships in South America become fully sustainable.

Groups like Fairtrade do not promise perfect compliance from all of their certified organizations, and how can they? I’m sure that as soon as they hear allegations about a certain product, they investigate it and, if necessary, withdraw the certification; but that can take a while. In addition, Fairtrade and other certifying groups are huge organizations, and things can slip through the cracks for them like any bureaucracy. Plus they require payment for certification and have high overhead costs.

We have alternatives to Fair Trade certification, including the movement toward locally-produced goods: When the company is based close to you and your community, it’s much easier to keep track of an organization’s suppliers, treatment of workers, and more.

Farming co-ops serve as another good example. Even in co-ops that aren’t certified Fair Trade, the farmers themselves own a part of the company and (most of the time) invest the profits in their own community’s needs.

Thanks to websites where organizations can show off and brag about their human rights records, we have a lot more power as consumers. We used to excuse our own ignorance, but now we’re forced to care a bit more. Whether or not we agree on how to help impoverished communities, we can explore and debate Fair Trade, child labor, sweatshops, and other consumer questions with relative ease. We won’t always make the same decisions; but we can all be compassionate and deliberate in how we make them.

Ultimately, it’s not Fairtrade’s responsibility to care about who makes what. It’s not their job to determine for you if a company treats the earth and the people in it with care. It is a helpful tool for being responsible consumers – which is our job. And the key to being responsible with what we buy and where we buy it is caring enough to look around in the first place.

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(Photo: John Nyberg)

The following opportunities came to me through the DC Stop Modern Slavery (DC SMS) newsletter. As the membership coordinator for DC SMS, I can help you get involved, join a team, or even start a chapter in a different metro region. Let me know if you’re interested in getting involved, or check out one of these DC-area opportunities:

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1. Want go get involved in organizing this year’s Annual SMS Walk?

Come to a Walk Interest Meeting this Thursday evening at Mad Hatter in Dupont Circle. The meeting will give you an understanding of what goes into planning the walk — by far DC SMS’ biggest event of the year. Members of the 2011 Walk team will be on hand to discuss their experiences, and leaders from the 2012 Walk team will share their vision and help you decide what role best fits your interests.

A variety of commitment levels are available in the following areas: logistics, communications/public relations, partnership and development.

When: Thursday, January 26, 6:30p.m. – 8:00p.m.
Where: Mad Hatter, 1319 Connecticut Avenue, NW
RSVP: http://bit.ly/zxxbEH

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2. Join fellow abolitionists for data entry that will aid in the fight against forced labor practices in India.

Free the Slaves is looking for volunteers in the DC metro area to take part in another day of entering survey data on debt bondage practices collected from local NGO partners in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar — two regions in India where slavery rates are extremely high.

This Saturday, volunteers will gather at Free the Slaves’ Dupont Circle office to input the latest batch of survey statistics on which types of programs contribute most to a sustainable decrease in slavery.

A pizza lunch will be provided. As the number of available FTS computers is limited, volunteers are encouraged to bring their own laptops.

When: Saturday January 28, 10:00a.m. – 5:00p.m. (If you can’t make it for the whole day, any time you can contribute is appreciated.)
Where: Free the Slaves’ Dupont Circle office (directions will be provided)
RSVP: E-mail elaine.graves@freetheslaves.net with your name, e-mail address, phone number and time availability.

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3. Ever wondered how someone calculates the monetary worth of a human being?

Come to DC Stop Modern Slavery’s first full member meeting of 2012 where this and other questions will be answered, such as “does having slaves in a product supply chain increase or decrease production costs?”

We will be gathering at Mad Hatter on February 7 for a discussion that will examine the modern-day slave trade as a business as well as what we as abolitionists can do to make the business of human trafficking an unprofitable one.

When: Tuesday, February 7, 6:30p.m. for drinks and socializing; 7:00p.m. – 8:30p.m. for program
Where: Mad Hatter, 1319 Connecticut Ave, NW
RSVP: http://bit.ly/zXt4o8

Okay, it was more like one friend and I looked at a globe in the bookstore; she saw South Sudan and said, “Oh, I didn’t realize there was a South Sudan now.”

Until recently, South Sudan hasn’t received a lot of press other than the short-lived and sappy “aw look a new, free country isn’t it cute just like a little kitten” reports. Then recent tribal infighting gave it more of a spotlight, but in the form of “aw look another African nation causing displacement I forget is South Sudan the same as Somalia?” reports.

So here’s a quick rundown on the country that, for good and bad reasons, has made world news lately:

When was South Sudan formed?

South Sudan (or Republic of South Sudan / RoSS) officially became a country on July 9, 2011. The Government of South Sudan, an autonomous group that oversaw the region, had authority in that area since 2005 as a condition of the peace treaty signed in order to end the Sudanese Civil War.

Why was South Sudan formed?

Sudan has essentially been in a state of civil war since 1955 (with an 11-year ceasefire). These wars generally took place between the Northern and Southern regions, which are quite distinct: In the last 1940′s and early 1950′s, Great Britain and Egypt ended their joint rule over the area. After governing/colonizing the North and South very differently, they left behind two large areas with different levels of education and unbalanced representation in government. Perhaps even more importantly, the South had (and continues to have) more of the natural resources.

The conflicts that ensued for political dominance, use of natural resources, and southern autonomy killed millions and displaced millions more.

In January of 2011, southern Sudanese people (including those scattered around the world) voted on whether or not the South should be independent. Nearly 99% of voters said yes.

I heard the conflict in Sudan was about Muslims vs. Christians. Is that true?

Yes and mostly no. To call the wars there religious would oversimplify the conflicts, but religion did play a part. Because of colonization, northern Sudan is predominantly Muslim with a Christian minority and South Sudan is predominantly Christian and animist with a Muslim minority. The wars did include repression of and extreme violence against Christians in the South, but other specific people groups became targets as well. Natural resources, cultural differences like language and education, and 200 years of political tensions also played a big part in the conflicts.

So is South Sudan a Christian nation, then?

Nope. Conflicting reports place both animists and Christians as the majority. President Salva KIIR Mayardit, who is Catholic, has stated that South Sudan will be a country that respects freedom of religion, and the South Sudan Transitional Constitution includes this guarantee as well, although the reality may be different.

I still hear about violence in South Sudan. I thought the civil wars ended?

There have continued to be serious human rights abuses and infighting even after South Sudan declared independence. Here are two to know about:

• The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) was one of the main rebel groups of the Sudanese Civil War. The SPLA has been condemned for human rights atrocities including mass rape, torture, and the use of child soldiers. But now SPLA has become the South Sudan Armed Forces and the main military arm of South Sudan. In fact, South Sudan’s flag is the same flag that the SPLA army used during the civil war.

• In South Sudan’s Jonglei state, members of the Murle group are said to have attacked and raided cattle from the majority Lou Nuer tribe. Resulting clashes have killed as many as 3000 people in 2011 and left thousands displaced or hiding in the bush. In the last month or so, the Nuer White Army (of the Lou Nuer tribe) has attacked Murle villages in retaliation for starting the cattle raids. Activists now warn that the Lou Nuer / Murle conflict may result in attempted genocide in the next 5 years.

What about all those “Save Darfur” campaigns. Isn’t that related?

Yes, the conflict in Darfur is related to South Sudan. The genocide began in 2003 while the North and South had already entered bitter peace negotiations. Learn more about the crisis in the Darfur region and how you can help.

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I know this is an incredibly simplified version of the events in RoSS. I’m just now learning about this region, so I admit ignorance. If you have conflicting information or think there’s important stuff I’ve left out, I do hope you’ll say so in the comments!

(Photos: RoSS in Africa / RoSS States)

In the last 10 years, nearly 800 detainees have entered Guantanamo. Now roughly 600 have been released; and as of 2009, only 4% “returned to the battlefield,” according to the Pentagon’s numbers.

In all the madness that is our War on Terror, we seem to have lost that beautiful virtue called empathy.  I have read reports trying to prove Guantanamo is so humane that authorities provide ice cream, Skype calls, and La-Z-Boy chairs, but these damn terrorists still throw their feces.

What these reports don’t discuss are the numerous accounts of torture (verified by US officials), the pain of missing the first 7 years of your children’s lives, or the inability to get a job once you’ve returned to your homeland, innocent or not.

I don’t know about you, but if a foreign country took me from the United States without any charge and detained me indefinitely, then denied me access to visitors, attorneys, a trial, or even a chance to know evidence against me, I would be throwing my shit too, to say the least. And ice cream wouldn’t appease me, either.

What saddens me the most about this (maybe – so many things about it make me sad) is that a lot of the innocent detainees assumed at the beginning that they were safer in the hands of Americans than anywhere else. In America – they often report after they’ve been released – they believed they would get a fair trial and be quickly freed.

So it’s taken us 10 years or less to undo a reputation that took centuries to build through Civil Rights marching and Bill of Rights signing.

When President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2012, he effectively closed the door to closing the door on Guantanamo. Regardless of his campaign promises, we continue to detain prisoners there without trial.

To be clear, I don’t know or care how dangerous these suspects are – I really don’t. We’ve tried many a serial killer and unabomber through our system. The fact that even the really bad dudes deserve a fair trial is one of the foundational principles of our country.

We pay through every taxed dollar and vote at every election for this system of ours. Now we have the chance – the privilege – to fight for civil rights all over again, with the fury that gave us our reputation of being just and free.

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(Photo by mike.benedetti)

Some highlights from break:

• Hearing Michael (my husband) and his dad sing Elvis and Johnny Cash at a New Year’s Eve karaoke night in Long Island.

Michael and his dad rocking karaoke night

• Finding out that the same Michael got a scholarship for law school.

• Getting the news that, yes, the very same Michael also got into a program at the Hague this summer.

Caroling at the National Gallery of Art

• Finishing a major project related to my musical-in-process.

• Seeing Michael’s grandmother and aunt in Queens and then visiting two close friends in CT.

• Watching “Christmas Vacation” with my family on the back porch in Memphis over cigars and scotch.

and

• Celebrating Chanukah, along with receiving some beautiful and precious items from my mother’s side of the family.

My great-grandmother’s amazing opera glasses, which accompanied me to Billy Elliot at the Kennedy Center this weekend and made Tier 2 seats feel like orchestra

(Lowlights include discovering that our dog ate the cover to our rental car’s emergency brake and…well, no that’s pretty much the big lowlight.)

Anyway, thank you for your encouragement and ideas over the last few weeks! I’m looking forward to another year of writing and hope you’ll come along for the ride.

There’s so much work to do, & yet somehow the world is also a wondrous place – may you find both beauty and justice all around you in 2012.

Joanna

On a related note, before I post some other good news below, let me say that this will be my last post before my annual end-of-year break. I’ll be taking a couple of weeks off from blogging to celebrate with my family, enjoy my husband’s break from law school, and fight away the evil that is seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

In addition, like last year I’ll be revisiting my goals for this site and making some changes for the upcoming year. If you have ideas, let me know. And yes, I’ve already thought about drunk blogging. Other ideas preferable, please.

I should be back in early January, but I think last year the deadline crept into mid-January. SAD really is a bitch. Kindness appreciated while I cope.

Lastly, I’ll still be keeping active on Twitter. Check there as I live tweet from Christmas morning. Just kidding. Unless there’s a lull. No not even then. Well maybe.

Good News!

The war in Iraq is OVER! Sure, we’ve left behind over 1 million displaced people in a still very unstable region. But I’m pretty sure our continued presence there would only increase both the number of refugees and the instability. Even if you disagree with that, one thing we can agree on is that it will be nice to have our boys and girls home. Welcome back, troopers. Stay for a while.

Seriously, please don’t go anywhere else for a long time.

Google is granting $11.5 million to anti-trafficking groups, including a huge gift to International Justice Mission (IJM) for work specifically in India, and another smaller gift to the U.S. Anti-Trafficking Initiative – a partnership between Polaris Project, Slavery Footprint, & IJM. Yay for corporations taking up this cause in such a big way. Particularly cool corporations like Google. Now if only they’d return Google Reader to its former glory.

The Hundred campaign is going strong. You may remember that LINK is in the process of rescuing 100 North Korean refugees from China (where it’s illegal to be a N. Korean refugee). Each rescue costs roughly $2500. They have already rescued 62 people and are raising funds for the rest. Read more about their work, the rescued individuals, and how to get involved (maybe as a Christmas gift for someone?).

Love to you all. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy New Year! Happy Festivus for the Rest of Us! See you in 2012.

Earlier this month, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-United) released the first annual National Diners’ Guide. This Zagat-like list of restaurants includes, among others, the 150 highest grossing restaurants in the United States. It scores each eatery on treatment of workers, including paid sick leave and livable wages (that employers refrain from stealing).

Some highlights: Five Guys won a gold prize for treatment of workers and In-N-Out won silver. No such luck for Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse – workers from these restaurants have sought ROC’s help regarding wage theft and other discriminatory practices.

According to ROC-United staff at the guide’s launch, homelessness is fairly common for restaurant workers. With wage theft and even forced labor plaguing the food industry, it shouldn’t surprise us that many cooks and even servers can’t make ends meet.

In addition, a lack of paid sick leave means workers feel forced to come in despite health risks. Across America, ROC-United surveyed cooks, servers and other staff members who admitted they came to work while vomiting because of their fear of missing a day’s wages. This is not just an effort to show compassion for the people who make your dinner; it’s a health and safety campaign.

Care for restaurant workers may appeal to you because you don’t like that the person who made your anniversary dinner is homeless and having her wages stolen. It may appeal to you because that same person possibly sneezed some sort of wretched nastiness onto your anniversary steak.

Either way, I hope we can be more like Andy Shallal, founder of Busboys & Poets in DC and host of the ROC Diners’ Guide launch earlier this month. After an amazing breakfast that included homemade fluffy biscuits and cranberry butter, he invited his entire staff into the dining room. One by one a surprisingly huge team made their way out of the kitchen and stood by the buffet while Shallal led us in applause.

I wish we gave that kind of respect more often for everyone who serves us life-giving food: moms, farmers, chefs, servers, and every forgotten line cook who worries about keeping his health and home.

I reported the DC area winners for WeLoveDC.com. Check out your own area’s biggest winners by getting a copy of the guide via free PDF. And have your favorite restaurant get into next years’ guide by contacting ROC.

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(Photo by Bobak Ha’Eri)

Related Links:

Sands of Silence on IndieGoGo

Amnesty’s Write for Rights Campaign – webpage
Writeathon Resources/PDFs page

Polaris Project Fellowships

Change.org Job in France
Other Change.org Job Opps

Win-a-Trip with Nick Kristof

Joanna on Twitter

Extra for Your Weekend

(This is the third post in a series on enriching your holiday festivities with acts of generosity.)

Friends from my time living in New York City and Ithaca will recognize the title of this post.

Back when I was at NYU, some good friends threw an annual party called the Jingle Mingle. They filled up their (relatively) spacious Chinatown apartment with young, hip New Yorkers… and then invited me. The event included elaborate musical performances by bands such as the Hong Kong Supermarket Christmas Choir. It was your classic holiday party except more like the perfect, nostalgic Christmas episodes in sitcoms about friends for life.

The Jingle Mingle quickly became a yearly highlight. So when my husband and I moved to Ithaca, we kept up the tradition. Only there was one problem: we had people to mingle but no real jingle. Gone was our friend’s band The Yellow Man group who could play a mean Britney Spears on the cello.

We added a musical element back to our party by setting up a caroling gig for all the partygoers at our neighborhood’s nursing home.

All it took was some photocopied hymns for 4-part carols and a group of people willing to sing, even if badly. With some Mennonite friends to guide the harmonies, it ended up sounding pretty darn good. The residents seemed to enjoy it a lot, and we got some jingle to go with our mingle. We’ve since left Ithaca but the tradition continues there today.

Caroling can also come with a small gift. (My gift recommendation: warm socks with non-slip soles). Oh, and whoever doesn’t want to sing can and should come as Santa.

I found that year after year, starting off a holiday party with something like this brought our whole group together in a deeper and more meaningful way. It broke the ice for new people and gave us something to talk about when we headed back to the party site for gingerbread and eggnog. Plus it guarantees you never have a Christmas party without live music.

(Photo: Jingle Mingle invitation 2005.)

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Are you interested in how business and consumerism can affect human rights? I’ll be live tweeting tomorrow from Getting Rights…Right… This day-long event will discuss the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Topics include human trafficking and conducting business in conflict zones. Follow along on Twitter.