Who are these people? When approached by Michael Jackson (an avatar in Second Life, SL) to give a talk about the US Occupation of Iraq ("What is Occupation Really Like for Students in Baghdad?") I immediately said "Yes".
His voice was morphed to sound just like MJ and his avatar was a not-quite-cartoonish representation of the world famous performer. I had my doubts. What kind of folk would be coming to this talk? Who were the people who aligned themselves with MJ in SL? What would they be like? Would they get the message that violence is not the way to solve problems? Too many questions...all to be soon answered quite clearly...
We met at the SL office of 121Contact {Peace and Justice Center, Better World Island (94, 138, 23)) and after a short introduction to 121's work and September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows I led them to 121's "What is Occupation Really Like?" exhibit. It's a maze whose walls are photos of 'life' in Baghdad, 2006-2008. Walking through is a rather confining experience and the walls offer glimpses of horror and hope; some of the images and sounds are quite bloody and disturbing. Having some 2 dozen walk through at the same time increased the claustrophobic effect. We could see them touching the objects there, reading the notecards, and taking to each other about what they were experiencing.
I (my avatar in named PT Witte [PT for Peaceful Tomorrows]) sat outside the exhibit with an Italien reporter who was covering the event, and I wondered aloud about how this disparate, international group of MJ lovers would respond.
When they finally wandered out it was easy to 'see' that they were, indeed, greatly moved by the exhibit. The questions they asked showed me their intense belief in the Love that MJ preached, and they were eager to 'do something'.If one can be said to 'feel the vive' of an avatar then that is what happened to me. I felt that I knew these 'people', and that they were good of heart and intention. More than MJ's music, his legacy of Love is the Way is what seems to hold them together as a group.
What can one do? There are many ways to help right the wrongs of the occupation. Here's one:
First, log on to Kiva. There you will find a simple way to make a loan to an Iraqi entrepreneur. Loans as small as US$25 are bundled together and distributed through a world-wide network of micro-lenders. I've used Kiva before and have always had my loans repaid. They run at about 99% repayment fullfillment. Here is 121's latest loan recipient: Nasir. He's 31 years old, married and lives with six family members. Three of the family members work. Nasir has had a food market since 2005. He has five years of experience, a good reputation and is well known in his local area. He is requesting $3,000 to buy a split air conditioner and to make sliding doors for his shop. He is aiming to gain more profits so he can improve his family’s quality of life.
It's not earthshaking. It's easy. It's direct. It helps in a one-to-one personal way. You can make a difference and help heal the damage of the US occupation of Iraq.
Comments