Wake Up Call

This is a wake up call, and I don't mean like the one you get in hotels to actually wake you up in the morning, but more like a reality check. How I got mine? Easily enough, I was watching an episode of House on Hulu when this add came on and I thought wow, something should be done. And since I have no money, seriously I can barely survive on chicken noodle soup and water, I decided this is the best way to take the message onto whoever comes in and reads this.

"The bodies and spirits of women and girls are the forgotten frontline in conflicts throughout the world. Sexual violence is not just a by-product of war; it is a strategy of combat systematically used to terrorize and humiliate." (IRC)

Every single day in places all over the world, women are fighting for their rights, for their lives... and it might be weird to us because as women living in the 21st century (somewhere around the U.S., Europe, etc.) we have equality and rights; even if sometimes it doesn't feel like it. I mean, to this day we have to work harder for what we want than men, but it's okay, keeps us motivated.

However, there are women fighting, women that can barely stand up, and that have been abused in every imaginable way since they are conscious enough to remember, maybe before.

The difference between us and them is not that we are smarter but that we are educated. Not that we have a great job, but that they can't get one. Not that we have difficulties but that they are abused. Not that they are lazy, but that they are not given the means to support their family, to get a better life.

They are fighting to survive violence, inequality, poverty and disease; we are just fighting. If to all that you add the war, the destruction and disaster the odds against them are even worst. "Nothing is more vital than what they are fighting for: their families and their own fiercely held dignity." (IRC)

So, if they can find the strength to fight, struggle, to succeed and survive, why is it that we can't even make the effort to help?

Others are. People are helping, taking action and trying to help them by giving them the tools necessary for them to succeed: Education, a refuge, work, and the support to move forward, to go ahead and be independent, to be brave, to be WOMEN and to fight for their lives.

And the beautiful part? Women are winning, against all odds, amid the worst crises... they are winning, and taking control of their lives. But they can't do it alone.

So, the IRC (International Rescue Committee) is asking for our help. Maybe, like me, you can't donate, maybe you think you have no time, but sending a msg, an e-mail, doesn't take you more than five minutes out of your schedule and it can help other people, those who have the money and the time to help, to actually DO something about it. Still, if you can do something go online to the IRC page and take action.

http://www.rescue.org/special-reports/ending-violence-against-women

"The IRC works to foster conditions in which women and girls not only survive the effects of conflict, but ultimately thrive." (IRC)