Ebola in Texas

Thomas Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, died this morning at Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. I couldn’t help but wonder, had the hospital not sent him home, would he have lived?  My heart goes out to his family and friends during this time as it does to all of those people in West Africa who are suffering from this disease and fighting so hard to treat it.

I know I’ve mentioned this before in an earlier post, that I believe there will be a cure or treatment for this disease within the year. There’s already several experimental treatments on the market today, which we’ve seen when the two US aid workers were brought to the US earlier this summer for treatment. Once these types of calamities show up on our shores we suddenly start to care and the resources are put behind them to stop them in their tracks. I hope that Duncan’s death isn’t in vain and that it helps push the drug companies even further to find a treatment or cure for this deadly disease.

What Ebola in Texas has done, is further reinforced the fact that we are no longer sequestered in our countries as in decades or centuries before. People travel and they travel widely. When an outbreak occurs in one place it will ultimately end up in others.

One thing I am proud of in this whole situation is the treatment that Duncan and his family received from our local officials. Especially Judge Clay Jenkins, who worked tirelessly to secure Duncan’s family a new place to stay and even entered the home without a hazmat suit. He was the epitome of a strong leader and showed true compassion in his goal to show kindness to this family during such a scary and difficult time.

I’ve seen so much fear-mongering on social media, as to be expected, but what’s important to remember is that this was a person, who lost his life to a horrific disease and now his family is left to mourn that loss.

Child Interrupted

One of the daily reports from Human Rights Watch really caught my eye today regarding children with special needs. I know I’ve been missing in action, primarily due to too much going on in the evenings and too many meetings during the day. On Saturday we held our annual special needs celebration to thank all of the volunteers and families that participate in our programs for children and adults with special needs. It’s a program through my church but is open to anyone in our community who has a family member with special needs; you don’t have to be a Christian or even believe in God, oh and the best part is – all of the programs are free.

When I read this article about Russia’s special needs children being dumped into state-run institutions and orphanages it made me cringe. Around 30 percent of the special needs children in Russia live in orphanages; and the vast majority of them have at least one living parent.  When a child is born with special needs, in Russia, their parents are told that they will never develop, they will never have normal lives and it is best to turn them over to the state. What happens next is criminal.

Most of the children are left in cribs, sedated constantly and never given any affection or therapeutic attention. Teenage children look no larger than an eight-year-old. They receive little to no stimulation or care and are often underfed. Healthcare workers are under-trained on how to work with children with special needs and have not been educated on the basic rights of the patient. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of the children in the orphanages the caretakers rely on restraints and heavy doses of sedatives to keep any sense of order. Had these children remained with their parents and received any type of therapy they would have been far better off and for many of them they would have led fulfilling lives.

Parents who have taken their children out of these orphanages are amazed at the transformation once they are home. They begin to open up and engage with the world around them. Anyone who has ever worked with special needs kiddos knows what I’m talking about. Just because on the outside their life doesn’t look the same as mine it doesn’t mean their life is any less meaningful.

Russia needs to place more focus on providing community based programs for children and families with special needs. A major shift needs to take place in the medical community where parents are encouraged to keep their children instead of turning them over to the state to be neglected. This whole idea that because the child is not born “normal” and thus are a burden to themselves, their families and their society it outdated and completely wrong. I’ve linked to the video that HRW posted on this topic. I will warn you it is not easy to watch, but it’s important to know.

I can say with a doubt that the kids that I work with are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met and the joy that they have brought to my life, and continue to bring, each Friday night that we meet, is beyond compare.

Judge Not, Yet Ye Be Judged

I’m behind on so many posts that I want to write – Ferguson, terrorism, etc. My actual day job is getting in the way of my life job, but I just got a little fired up so I figured I’d write about it. At this point you’ve probably figured out that I am a Christian. After almost 13 years of not attending church regularly, except for the 12 times I was a bridesmaid, I started going again after I turned 30. I thought it might help my singleness – desperate times, call for desperate measures- and while I may still be single it has provided me with a tremendous outlet for service to others.

I happen to be a United Methodist and if you don’t know much about Christian denominations I jokingly say we are like the Democrats of Christianity or there isn’t a social cause we haven’t championed. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware that as with anything there are hypocrites and people that turn Christianity and the big JC’s words around on other people in order for it to fit their own agenda. I always say, “Don’t confuse God with something mankind is doing. Once mankind gets involved we will figure out a way to fuck it up.” We’re human, we’re flawed.

So, this leads me to my post. I follow the United Methodist Women on social media and this group has been serving the needs of local and world communities for years. Today, they posted a link about a recent report they did in Nepal about helping needy children get the nutrients they need in order to thrive and survive. In that post they asked for others to share what they’re doing in their community to help improve maternal, child and reproductive health. Those last two words is what got me all fired up. Another woman on the site said the following: What is “reproductive health?” Seriously, it sounds like a Planned Parenthood catch phrase.

And yes my friends that’s what this nice Christian lady who is supposed to love and provide for everyone had to say about that. Good ole’ Planned Parenthood, you know the demon organization that provides other life saving healthcare services besides abortions to women who are in need. I’m proud to say that Dallas will open one of the first clinics that meets stringent new laws imposed by the state of Texas on abortion clinics. If you remember the epic Wendy Davis filibuster that’s what she was bustering about.

Thankfully I’ve never had to make the choice of whether or not to have an abortion; but I know plenty of women who have. Just because it isn’t something that I would do doesn’t give me the right to judge. I believe in a woman’s right to do what she wants with her body. If you don’t agree with abortion, don’t get one and leave everything else up to her and her God.

Jesus was the ultimate human rights activist – he died for freedom of speech – where once we were told an eye for an eye he said turn the other cheek, when the Pharisees were after him to try and trap him with his words and accuse him of blasphemy (a crime punishable by death back in the day, and in some 3rd world countries still today) asked what the greatest commandment was he said this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. That is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.”

So with that I’ll leave you with my post back to my lovely friend who apparently missed these passages.

Post from UMW: Read our maternal and child health story from Nepal: bit.ly/VOCXd0. Then share your own story! What are you doing to improve maternal, child and reproductive health in your community or around the world? Share your success stories and challenges right here on our Facebook page, and get inspired to take action!

Follower’s post: What is “reproductive health?” Seriously, it sounds like a Planned Parenthood catch phrase.

My response: Reproductive health is defined by WHO as the the entire reproductive system and the healthy maintenance of that system. It could be a Planned Parenthood catch phrase since they provide life saving services like mammograms and pap smears to women who do not have access to adequate health care. One of our human rights as outlined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights is the right to healthcare; something people in our own country and many countries around the world do not have. Women and children in developing nations are especially susceptible to reproductive health issues during and after child birth. As a United Methodist I am extremely proud of this church’s staunch support of basic human rights. You don’t have to agree with everything, and if you don’t like something don’t do it, but judge not least ye be judged on anything that does not pertain directly to you as a person.

 

O Captain! My Captain!

Robin Williams died on Monday. Robin Williams the iconic actor who has made the world laugh as long as I’ve been alive. I remember my parents taking me to see Popeye at the movie theater and from then on I was hooked. So what does Robin Williams have to do with a human rights blog?

I admit, I wanted to write this post yesterday but I didn’t know where to begin. Strange that someone you never met can have an impact on your life. I think for most people it’s the shock that someone who was that funny and brought so much joy to so many people could be in that much pain. Williams was not only a prolific actor he was a great humanitarian.

Every Christmas he appeared in the St. Jude ads that run on TV and in movie theaters and he was a long time supporter of Amnesty International. In his more serious roles he was always cheering for the underdog and telling us that it was more noble to stand up for what you believe in than to go along with the crowd.

Yesterday, August 12, was UN International Youth Day and ironically the focus of this year’s day was mental health. According to the UN, 20 percent of the world’s youth population suffers from some type of mental health issue. I can only imagine that those numbers will escalate in the next few months due to depression and PTSD caused by war and conflict; I would expect there would be a sharp uptick in Africa and the Middle East.

According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness 1 in 4 American adults will suffer from some form of mental illness in one year; and approximately 14.8 million American adults suffer from depression. One of our basic human rights as outlined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights is the access to health care. Sadly in many countries, including our own, this right isn’t realized.

One only has to walk down any major metropolitan street to see homeless people, 46 percent of whom have a mental illness. The recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have led to sharp increase in suicides among military personnel and more than half of all soldiers suffer from some form of mental illness.

One of the highlights of my graduate experience was the honor of interviewing four US Army service members who had served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. I was working on a paper that focused on PTSD and I followed the chronology and the development of the disorder from its first mentions during the American Civil War up to present day. None of the men I interviewed had been diagnosed with PTSD but their experiences still had a profound influence on them both mentally and emotionally. Most of them said the hardest part of adjusting back to civilian life following a tour was simply driving down the road without fearing they would be blown up.

We face a tremendous crisis in this world when it comes to diagnosing and treating people with depression and mental illness. Access to help and services should be readily available to those who are in need. Each life is precious and it’s a gift, but we’re human and we’re fragile. To quote  the tagline of my human rights program: “There is no such thing as a lesser person.”

Out of Africa

No I don’t mean the stupendously wonderful 1985 film starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford; I’m talking about three important stories that have come out of Africa in the past few days. While I am aware of the recent news out of Nigeria with the military being accused of war crimes I am not going to cover that in this post, I will cover that later however in a more encompassing look at war crimes.  I volunteer with a respite program for special needs kids and their siblings. At the end of the night when their parents return to pick them up we practice what we call the Oreo theory. What’s the Oreo theory? It’s simple, you start with something good, slide in something not so good and finish on something good.

So now our first good out of Uganda. In February, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law an anti-homosexuality act that went into effect in March. Members of the LGBT community in Uganda have long suffered from discrimination and the new act only made things worse, with many of them fleeing the country under threat of their life and loss of their income. Sadly, the message of homophobia is often preached from the pulpit and homosexuals are portrayed in an almost demon-like manner (clearly the love thy neighbor and do unto others message has been missed here). However, on Friday, August 1, Parliament overturned the law on a technicality stating that when the act was passed Parliament did not have the required quorum to make the vote legal. Now it remains to be seen whether or not the bill is reintroduced into Parliament for another vote but for the time being this is a small victory for the LGBT community in Uganda.

Now for the not so good. West Africa is experiencing one of the worst Ebola outbreaks in history with more than 1,600 people diagnosed and almost 900 deaths. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 90% of patients that contract Ebola die. Ebola first appeared in 1976 and since that time outbreaks, of varying intensity, have occurred from time to time. While the outbreaks are typically reported as a quick blurb on the evening news something has changed in recent weeks. Why is that? First, one of the leading doctors fighting the disease, Dr. Sheik Umar Khan, contracted the disease and died. Second, two Americans, Dr. Kent Brantly and a missionary named Nancy Writebol were infected with the disease. Both Americans have been flown to the United States for treatment and an experimental drug has seen some very promising results. So why am I calling this something not so good? It’s simple, I predict that by the end of 2015 if not sooner there will be a vaccine for Ebola, or this experimental drug will be readily available to West Africans and the world. All it took was two, white, Americans to contract the disease to save thousands of others. If you don’t think that race plays a part in the decisions of major corporations you would be badly mistaken.

And for our last good. For months the world was riveted by the plight of Sudanese Doctor and Christian Meriam Ibrahim who was sentenced to death- for the straight out of Genesis archaic law of apostasy – which means to renounce your religion. Meriam gave birth to her daughter shackled to the floor awaiting her execution. I signed every petition that Amnesty International sent my way with every email address I have. It’s against international law to execute a pregnant woman or a woman who is nursing. The UN Declaration of Human Rights also protects a person’s right to practice the religion of their choosing. Meriam is marred to a Sudanese-American and they now have two children. After intense international pressure she was released from prison only to be rearrested by the Agents of Fear when she and her family were trying to leave Sudan. After intense negotiations between the Italian and Sudanese governments Meriam and her family were finally allowed to leave – stopping in Rome to meet Pope Francis – before finally arriving last week in Manchester, NH. Despite the fact that her case was a serious misstep in US foreign policy – everyone knew the danger she was in and she should have been taken immediately to the US embassy and sent to America – this story has a happy ending. Not only are Meriam and her family free but her story goes to show that ordinary people all over the wolrd signing petitions and taking action really can make a difference even if it is for one person.

The Talmud (or the ending of Schindler’s List) says it best: And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.