by Anita Mendiratta | Sep 4, 2016
One year ago the image of baby Alan Kurdi washing ashore gripped the world. The desperate quest of his Syrian family for freedom and safety ended up in this tired, overtaken rag doll image becoming a reflection of the plight of the Syrian refugees. A little angel forced our attention.
One year on. And where are we now? Has his life been honoured by lives protected? Lives saved?
Has the call to the global community for compassion and accommodation been heard? Has the message been able to make its way through the year?
Painfully, it appears not.
Immediate response to the image of lifeless little Alan on the shores of one of Turkey’s tourism beaches was citizen outrage and political action. As hearts opened across the globe, and hashtags acted as a voice imploring a humanitarian response, policies were put in place to open doors. European leaders, some but not all, showed an ethical leadership and unity unseen for quite some time. Their show of courage and conviction within political leadership was needed, immediately, not later, as day after day thousands of desperate, journey defying refugees arrives on the shores of the continent. Tiny children. Tired parents. Too many to count. Too many tears to see through.
Hearing of the struggles for life, hundreds of millions worldwide watched as flimsy, water-defying boats arrived in Europe, and the journey of the refugees continues. The long walk to freedom. Hundreds and hundreds of kilometers were taken on without hesitation by the refugees remarkably on terra firma. Germany, Austria, the UK, France…anywhere, actually. As they say, beggars can’t be choosers. Thousands of kilometers away from Turkish shores, refugees began their trek to their so dearly hoped for final places to rest their tired hearts, souls and soles.
The world was finally watching. And yet the reality is that long before baby Alan washed up on the shores of Turkey, refugees had been fleeing from Syria to places promising simply safety. Millions. Millions the world chose not to see as it was not on their shores.
And then reality bit, hard. As waves of refugees arrived into Europe, doors began to close, along with hearts. Policies were changed, promises fell, compassion faded. And # activism moved on to the next issue, the next crisis, the next popular outrage.
Still, while the world looks away, the global refugee community continues to fight for freedom, dignity and safety. The numbers of refugees making the terrifying journey since little Alan’s death has reached almost one million, with close to 6000 lives lost – those that we know of. This past week, in a period of just 30 hours, an estimated 6,500 refugees made the terrifying crossing of the Mediterranean, including a pair of five day old twins born on the waters thankfully finding themselves on the dry shores of Europe, and in the headlines of global news. The survival of these two little souls has been called a ‘miracle’, the story squeezing the hearts of the world. Likewise the image of little Omran, the young boy pulled out of the rubble of an airstrike on his neighbourhood in Aleppo. His family chose to stay. He survived. His brother, however, did not.
Children, fragile children, have become what it takes to get the world’s attention, to care.
But does the world care enough to not look away?
The care, compassion and action of the world can be so much more. We who can make a difference must stop looking to the lives of refugees for stories of miracles – we must create the miracles that their life stories so desperately, courageously seek.
The policies of governments across the world accepting, or rejecting, refugees are a direct reflection of the wishes of their citizens. It is the opening, and closing, of hearts and homes on safer ground that is determining the fate of the refugees – courageous souls simply seeking to find a way of looking towards tomorrow with confidence that they will see the sunrise. Are changes needed to systems and structures to take in refugees and make them productive, appreciated members of society? Absolutely, this we know to be true. As is needed ways of identifying those taking advantage of the suffering of others to drive their own agendas, gaining access to be able to do damage to societies simply trying to do good.
As opportunities and issues across our world continue to bring people together, the refugee crisis has rightly been called ‘the moral test of our generation‘. To fail this test would be profoundly shameful.
Today, right now, here’s how you can help: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/28/world/iyw-migrant-how-to-help/index.html
And please, please, do not look away…..x
Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2016
by Anita Mendiratta | Aug 15, 2016
To watch the 2016 Olympic Games is to watch magic happen. Day after day, event after event, new records are set, new dreams are realised. Coaches, families, friends and funders cheer from surrounding benches and bleachers as young spirits ignite, turning years of tireless training into seconds that will last a lifetime. Some win, some lose, all are top of their game, whichever part of the Games in which they are participating. Tears fall, the pain of Olympic moments caused by both physical and emotional highs and lows. Through it all, ignited spirits glow strong.
Even those losing out on their goals for gold will forever feel a golden fire within their hearts. They were there when the Opening Ceremonies saw the world’s flags and finest athletes walk the stadium surrounded by a world of applauding admirers sitting right there in the venue, or the tens of millions sitting in their homes and offices watching from across the globe. Their Olympic moment can never be taken from their hearts, their life stories.
For all athletes the road to Rio has been a commitment beyond compare. All else was put on hold – at times it felt as though their lives depended on it. Those around know only to support – be there, supporting in silent strength, unless loud rallying of effort and energy was required to keep them moving forward, looking upward.
Their moment is all that matters. The rest of their lives can wait.
For the average athlete, superhuman in their strength of ability, hardships are assumed to be few. The fundamentals are assumed to be taken care of – a roof over their heads, a meal in their bellies, a team of professionals guiding their every move, a sense of peace that they are safe in their place in the world. Focus can afford to be selfish. There is little reason to fear anything but failure when tomorrow comes.
But for one team competing at the 2016 Olympic Games, fears they faced tomorrow were far beyond athletic performance. The assumptions of home, health, safety, security, and selfishness do not exist.
Home is no longer a place they can go – it no longer exists.
Family? Not 100% sure.
The future? Again, not 100% sure.
Such is the flame, the view of tomorrow, that is held in many of the hearts of the ten athletes that make up this year’s Olympic refugee team – the first ever refugee team in Olympic history. Without a nation state, still they have remarkable abilities, and even more remarkable dreams. And so, together these ten incredible forces of nature, often without nurture, stand tall, together, under the iconic Olympic rings flag.
Their spirit is everywhere, strengthening the Olympic flame for all.
The question is: how can these heroes be found, supported, championed, given a feeling of peace and place with all they need, beyond the Games, beyond these precious ten representing the over 65 million refugees worldwide today?
As these remarkable athletes grace Rio with their courage and commitment to not just sport, but survival of the human spirit. May they be the enduring flame, inextinguishable of the 2016 Games.
Their stories are here – https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/refugee-team-olympics-brazil-sports/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=global&utm_campaign=general-content&linkId=27340192
Please take a moment, read through their journeys to Rio. Open your heart to be able to hear their Olympic dreams, their daily dreams, come to life.
I challenge you not to cry…x
Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2016
by Anita Mendiratta | Jul 21, 2016
One more idealist is now in Heaven.
Just a matter of days ago, one of our world’s great men – Michael Elliott – raised his glass for the last time, and then shut his eyes. As has been said in one of the many salutes that has followed news of his passing spreading across the globe, just 48 hours before his last breathe, as people gathered around him to toast him at his retirement party, “nobody could have known that he was, in fact, the life of the party at his own wake.”
So often the news of the passing of a global personality spreads like wildfire, and then quickly burns out. People pause, remember, and then return to normal programming of daily life. The personality was known, but not necessarily the person. The loss is somewhat removed from the lives of the rest.
However, every once in a while, the pause holds, the thought of the loss hanging like a thin layer of cloud over all thoughts.
Such was the case on learning of the Michael’s recent passing.
While having met him only once, this was (not liking writing ‘was‘ in the past tense!) a person who penetrated one’s conscience. His presence was strangely soothing. His combination of gravitas yet gentleness, silence yet strength, wisdom yet youthfulness, overriding presence of idealism, was, is, unforgettable. His CV underlined his acumen, his deserved admiration from the global community. He was, when we met, at the top of his game in the media world.
And then, in 2011 at the height of his journalistic career, he made news by choosing to leave being one of the world’s greatest men of the pen, to join ONE, working for a greater world. As expressed by the organisation,:
“Whether lobbying political leaders in world capitals or running cutting-edge grassroots campaigns, ONE pressures governments to do more to fight AIDS and other preventable, treatable diseases in the poorest places on the planet, to empower small-holder farmers, to expand access to energy, and to combat corruption so governments are accountable to their citizens.”
Joining a unique group of global voices and visionaries, Michael shifted his focus to leading what is today “more than seven million ONE members on every continent around the world carrying forward (the idea that where you are born shouldn’t dictate whether you live or die) through hard-nosed government advocacy and campaigning for smart aid and policy change to benefit the world’s poor.” (Source: ONE Annual Report 2015).
Over the next five years, as President and CEO, his vocation shaped his DNA. As poignantly expressed by Bono, co-founder of ONE,: “Above all else, he wanted his life to be useful. If you were around him, that’s what he demanded of you.”
To read the tributes now flowing through the wires is to read hearts celebrating greatness. Clearly, at a cellular level, he lived each moment dedicated to ONE. Only the invasion of cancer was able to stifle his efforts.
Now, as the pause lingers, tributes reinforce that Michael was a man who inspired people of inspiration to keep their chins up, eyes focused, hearts open. Reminded of him in reading of his passing, it is impossible not to feel a straightening of the backbone. A gentle push on the back to keep moving forward, following one’s inner compass that instinctively points north.
Why? Because every single day our hyper-connected world of communication reveals example after example of his sadly disconnected we are becoming from one another. Conscious, active, and increasingly aggresively articulated choices are being made as to where compassion is being exhausted, and where caution should be applied. Care for others is falling a far second to protection of oneself. Fear has become a motivator for action, not faith, nor human kindness, and certainly not a commitment to creating a better world for all. Walls are being spoken of to keep people apart at a time when bridges are required for understanding, unity, safety.
Michael, his last chapter of his life’s work, is an example of the fullness one can realise in life…even when the number of pages we have are fewer than hoped. Now is the time to work, actively work, to make a positive difference, one by one by one. Because tomorrow is a grand assumption.
At a time when the world so desperately needs us all to believe in better, and do what we can to make it happen, may the memory of this great man keep our chins up, eyes focused, hearts open.
May the Heavens welcome you with open wings, Michael. Rest well.
Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2016
by Anita Mendiratta | Jun 25, 2016
Just the thought of such a desire is staggering.
A nation, part of the world’s greatest union of nations representing one of our generation’s greatest achievements in international cooperation for shared economic, social and security benefit, choosing to break away and stand alone. Impossible. The wish, the perceived advantages of walking away, seem unfathomable.
And yet it has happened.
BREXIT – the United Kingdom has chosen to leave the European Union.
And now a wildly moving wave of ‘how did this happen?’ is reaching across the UK, and across the world. The pain and unnerving realisation of reality of those in the UK who voted ‘IN’ are palpable. The cocktail of sadness, shock and shame heartbreaking. The quiet of those voting ‘OUT’ deafening. There is no going back, no face to save. OUT it will be, and if the EU has its wish fulfilled, it will be a rapid process, well within the 2 year ticking clock period allowed. No one wants to be unwanted, unappreciated, unloved. If the UK has chosen to go, then UK must go.
Reading the overflowing amounts of analysis the morning after the voting day before, there is a clear sense of ‘what just happened?‘ So many are still so taken aback that this is where the UK chapter of the story of the EU is to end. How did this happen? How did we get here? It is still all so unclear…
What is clear with the BREXIT vote yielding an ‘OUT’ outcome is that confidence in the UK is plunging. Markets across the globe are feeling the far reaching tremors as one of the world’s most beloved currency drops to its lowest level in over 30 years. Questions are now being posed, loudly, around trade relations, tourism movements, and capitals of commerce. The cachet of London, and the UK, has been severely tarnished.
But even beyond that, beyond the statistics, the schedules of exit, the scenarios of what life will now be as an independent island economy, is the human impact. So easily overlooked, this is where the scars are appearing most deeply.
However the legal exit formalities may unfold, relations are tarnished, sadly irreparably. ‘Divorce’ has become one of the most popular, and possibly meaningful, analogies when BREXIT is explained. Indeed, it is a parting of long-committed partners who, over 40 years ago, thought that their vows were for several lifetimes. But then the hurt began, individual wishes and needs being eclipsed, a feeling of “this is not working for me” emerging. It was not a surprise – the UK / EU relationship had had troubles areas for many years. But when one partner finally says to another “Do you think we should get a divorce“, the DNA of the relationship cannot but change. Feelings of betrayal, bitterness, rejection and rage are natural. There is no erasing the question once asked. On paper the marriage may still be intact, but in the hearts of those involved, a fracture of bond has occurred.
This is what the entire BREXIT question, campaigning and outcome has felt like. The fact that the UK even held a referendum was a huge slight to the people of the EU. Again, posing the question of divorce is damage enough. The offense is felt. The hurt is real. And the reaction is raw. It is no surprise, therefore, that the EU is asking for rapid imposing of Article 50, and appointment of a successor to the Prime Minister of the UK. The decision is made. It’s time to move on.
While back in the ‘what the hell just happened?’ UK #regrexit trends and discussion around a second referendum gains momentum, deep down, the damage is done. Credibility is lost. Commitment is violated.
One can only now hope that, where counseling was unable to break through conflict, this breakup of a 40+ year relationship will encourage all involved to pause, and think deeply about, what each can do better next time. For the UK the ‘next time’ sadly is not an option. But for the EU, the opportunity exists for Brussels to dig deep and address the issues that made one of its strongest members so irate with the relationship that breaking one of history’s strongest bonds was the only option.
The impact of BREXIT goes far, far beyond geopolitics, economics, IN/OUT. The impact is personal, deeply personal. Because whatever the paperwork, our global community is about human bonds. We test and break these at our peril.
Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2016
by Anita Mendiratta | May 30, 2016
A mosquito.
A tiny, seemingly inconsequential flying creature, commonplace across the globe. Simply a prick of a pain in most parts, barring those where Malaria is a very real risk to lives of locals and visitors alike. But otherwise, just a nuisance, normally.
But for countries across the globe, especially in the Americas, this little pest has had a paralysing effect. Travel and tourism: cautioned. Family planning: delayed. Olympic dreams: debated.
Zika. It has become a globally known name of a virus up until now ‘out there‘ but seen as far from risk to the ‘here & now‘. Its pesky, prickly carrier? Those once tiny, troublesome little mosquitoes are now the source of terrifying prognosis for hopeful parents, and heartbreaking probability for hopeful athletes. The competitors at the moment, fighting out the debate re. Games go/no-go? WHO, CDC, IOC, and so many other entities.
But the Zika virus is not the only pestering problem. Brasil, host country to the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is bruised on many sides at present. Health & safely. Economy. Politics. The list only grows.
Sadly, while the reasons for woes may differ, the pre-Games distraction does not. And with that, the complete disregard for what the Games mean for the thousands of athletes from across the world who have put in hundreds of thousands of hours of training, hoping, dreaming, crying, trying and trying again and again, to get to the Games.
How is it that the athletes, the heroes of the Games, are repeatedly forgotten? How has it become possible that their blood, sweat and tears dreams are so easily set aside to give space to the drama?
Whether London, Sochi, Athens, or elsewhere, and now Rio, challenges to LOCs re. infrastructure readiness, citizen support. Now, in the case of Rio, government and economic collapse, not to mention the threat of the Zika virus, push away the dreams of athletes to allow for pre-Games debates on Games viability. These are the debates that directly, disappointingly, devastatingly take the oxygen out of the hope and inspiration that Games can and do so naturally generate.
And yet, once again, it is the athletes that are the losers in the pre-Games game playing.
Their training will continue, their dreaming will continue, most likely until the last possible minute until which the verdict can be delivered. They, the athletes of the 2016 Games, are not prepared to quit, even if the rest of the world is ready to quit on them.
Sadly, even now, there are so many emotions pushing back on their dreams. The natural momentum of skepticism, pessimism, negativity, are increasing the level of debate, and levels of concern, the list of reasons why the Games should be postponed or relocated.
And through it all, the athletes, and their dreams, are left as silent, innocent bystanders.
What will the final result be? Who will win – the athletes, or the antagonists? The dream, or the debate?
2016 is no different to 2012, or 2008, or any other Summer Games….or Winter Games, for that matter. Somehow we need to find a way to protect the dreams of these Olympic hopefuls, honouring their endless efforts to get to their version of gold, honouring their dreams.
“Citius, Altius, Fortius“. These are the words, in Latin, that define the essence and dictate the slogan, of the Olympic Games.
“Faster, Higher, Stronger.”
These words apply not only to the athletes, but to a world of onlookers who, like the athletes themselves, should be working daily to win in the race of hope & glory over debate & disappointment.
Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2016
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