This August marks two years since the world's nations and thousands of social activists gathered in Durban, South Africa to expose the devastating effects of racism and other forms of intolerance.
The World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) was prescient in ways that perhaps we can only truly appreciate in hindsight. WCAR urged the world to face its own history in order to recognize that racism and bigotry contribute to and often cause much of the unnecessary suffering and despair experienced by large numbers of people. Since that time, the world community has learned the hard way that we cannot afford to ignore the anger that such disparity incites.
This issue of Raising Our Voices focuses on the continuing struggle to overcome a legacy of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, caste and/or national origin. As activists for women's rights, we know that social justice and gender equality cannot exist without a strong commitment to ending all forms of discrimination.
In today's world, we are reminded of the need to challenge the ramifications of racism wherever it exists, from the United States to Rwanda to India and beyond. Our grantee partners representing the Twa, the Kui and the Chukchi share lessons of how they are working to overcome prejudice against their respective communities.
We hope this issue provides important food for thought about the ways in which women's rights activists face double discrimination as members of indigenous communities. By listening to their voices, we as an international community can begin to take the critical first steps toward eradicating the false divisions that sustain violence and war.
In solidarity,
A warm farewell to Misti Sangani who has resigned from the Global Fund as of July 2003 to spend more time with her daughter Amrita, born in February of this year. Misti has worked with the Global Fund for over 10 years and has contributed so much to the organization during this time. While at the Global Fund, she served in a number of different roles, first as a Grants Manager, then as Director of Programs, and finally as Vice President of Programs & Evaluation. Although we will miss Misti very dearly, we hope to continue working with her in her new career as a consultant. We wish Misti all the best as she embarks on this new path.
Photos © Terry Lorant