ACTIVIST OF THE MONTH!

The Activist of the Month is a monthly project with the goal of highlighting stories of activists around the world. We hope that these will inspire you to join the fight and discover the activist in you, Below you can find all the full interviews conducted. Hope you will enjoy!

PRIOR EVENTS

Activist of the month: April Edition

Activist of the Month (April Edition)

It has been almost two months since the Russian government invaded Ukraine. In the last 50 days we have seen terrible images, but at the same time many extremely dedicated and determined people who have come together and done great things to support Ukrainian refugees. One of them is Sonja.

Sonja is 20 years old, half Ukrainian half German, grew up in Russia and is now studying European Studies in The Hague. When the war in Ukraine started in February 2022, Sonja was determined to help as much as possible. At first, she started spreading information and donating money to organizations. However, she knew she had to do more. At the end of March, she and a few friends went to the Polish-Ukrainian border, to the town of Medyka to get directly involved. During our interview, Sonja was calm, unwavering and strong-willed. She spoke confidently and encouragingly, but her concern was unmistakable.

“The solidarity at the border was so encouraging”

Not knowing what to expect, Sonja and her friends arrive at the border. She was overwhelmed by how many people were there to help. “There was a strong atmosphere of solidarity, many people from many different countries wanted to help.” When she arrived, she was shocked by how disorganized everything was. “It was mostly private people who got together in their spare time, but there was hardly any institution that provided structure and organization.” Sonja was also struck by the lack of communication between institutions and refugees. Fluent in English, Russian and Ukrainian she therefore saw her opportunity in acting as a translator providing as much information as possible. Her presence was additionally crucial in mediating between refugees and volunteers from all over the world. Nevertheless, Sonja mentioned how sobering it was for her not to know much while being the messenger. Still, she conveyed a sense of security and hope to those arriving by her mere presence.

“Desperate. People were desperate”

During the one week she spent at the border, Sonja met a woman whose husband was fighting in the Ukrainian military. The woman initially refused to leave everything behind. However, when the situation came to a head, she took her child and left. They just started walking and walking and walking. Sonja was struck by her great composure and positive attitude. It wasn’t until she started showing pictures of her bombed-out city that the woman’s eyes began to water. No verbal conversation was needed to notice the exhaustion and fear of the arrivals. People were dazed. People were desperate. People felt abandoned.

“This trip has changed the way I look at the world”

Sonja mentioned several times how this trip opened her eyes. Knowing the impact a few euros can have, she now pays even more attention to her spending. In addition, the experience at the border has significantly changed her perception of the important things in life. She realized that we often focus on the wrong things and get bothered by small inconveniences. Sonja lost her wallet on the way home. Before being at the boarder, this would have affected her greatly. But now she can put her problems more into perspective and knows how easily these issues can be solved. “It’s annoying, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it seemed before,” she says.

“It takes professionals, not just private individuals”

What bothered Sonja the most was the lack of professional support on the ground. As mentioned earlier, she said, it was mainly private individuals who, while undoubtedly very helpful, lacked the ability to create organizational structures. She is convinced that more institutions and NGOs need to get involved, otherwise resources will be even more poorly allocated, leading to inefficiency and waste.

During her stay at the boarder but even more here ,in The Hague, Sonja has also experienced hatred against Russians. She emphasizes how anger against innocent people is fueling an already escalating situation. Racism against the Russian people is not a solution; it only makes the situation worse.

“I encourage everyone to pack their things and go to the boarder”

Regardless of Sonja’s ambitions and her already extremely impressive contributions, she is still a student and cannot spend all her time helping. She therefore calls on other students to get involved by first acquiring a sound knowledge to distinguish between correct and incorrect sources. Consequently, spread the right information and raise awareness, whether through social media or on a direct, personal level. Another way to get involved is through monetary help or the donation of goods (no more clothes but rather canned food and meds!!). However, if you are considering a donation, she advocates to do your research on the NGO and rather choose a smaller organization where you know exactly where the money is going, she argues. For example, Sonja recommends „Hope Onlus“, an NGO she has worked with locally. In addition, people should team up, rent a van and drive directly to the border. Sonja emphasizes not only how important it is to get directly involved, but also how encouraging and eye-opening it is to help on the field.

Sonja also urges universities to provide more knowledge. She highlights how well the universities in The Hague support (potentially) affected people. However, it is equally important to provide more information about the current situation and give guidelines on how students can get involved. After all, deeper knowledge inevitably leads to more engagement.

The gravity of the situation weighed heavily on their shoulders. But despite all the despair and the feeling that she couldn’t change much as an individual, her journey was eye-opening and changed her perspective on life. Sonja’s trip was reassuring in the sense that all the time and energy spent was absolutely worth it, and she encourages everyone to do the same.

Sonja’s closing comment on activism was.

“Be proactive or no one will help you. If you really want to help, you have to do something about it yourself”.

“Be proactive or no one will help you. If you really want to help, you have to do something about it yourself”

Activist of the month: March Edition

Activist of the Month (March Edition)

The participants of the Flashmbob to end violence against women, which they performed together a few minutes ago as part of the One Billion Rising Campaign in the city center of The Hague, fall into each other’s arms. Relief that no steps have been forgotten is mixed with the dejection that the topic brings. Into this detached heaviness, Valeria, one of the two activist leaders of the “Let’s Talk About Yes Campaign” at Leiden University, raises her voice.

“To be honest, I wish I didn’t have to be giving this speech right now. I wish that we didn’t have to be fearful of walking alone at night, that we didn’t have to send our friends to our location or cover our drinks at parties. These problems are a danger to all as and very, very real. We shouldn’t have to worry about safety precautions every time we go out but we do.”

Before applause breaks out, there is silence for a few seconds, during which the victims of physical or sexual violence, which corresponds to about one in three women present, reflect on their own experiences. The victims’ stories are diverse, but silence is a recurring element, as Valeria tells me. Last October, she and other team members organized an exhibition where victims could anonymously put their experiences on paper. For many, it was the first time they spoke about the assault, which ranged from catcalling, harassment, groping in public to more severe cases of sexual violence. It is a first step in breaking the silence and bringing the issue of consent to public discussion. Because sex without consent is rape.

“When girls are mocked and villainized for setting boundaries. Rape culture permeates our everyday lives and only an active effort will cause change. One way of ending rape culture is by creating a culture of consent.“

This is also what the Amnesty “Let’s Talk about Yes Campaign”, which Valeria leads, is about. She fights for a consent culture, a better support system for survivors, the changing of rape law, and the help of universities in achieving these goals through the intensification of activities against sexual violence. When Valeria was 14, she realizes for the first time in a discussion with classmates that consent is interpreted and acted upon in different ways. It shocks her that short dresses are often equated with yes. She begins to look for a way to make her “No” heard. A couple of years later, she works on a high-school project on refugees. Valeria contacts Amnesty to get more information about the situation of refugees in the Netherlands. She is invited for a personal interview, during which she is encouraged to focus on the people behind the statistics and numbers and to fight for their rights. Valeria takes the advice to heart, and commits herself to make people feel seen and heard; first as a member of the Amnesty student team in Utrecht and now as leader of the “Let’s Talk about Yes Campaign”. Her commitment has resulted in Leiden University agreeing to sign the manifesto and taking another step towards consent culture. However, the goal is far from being achieved and Valeria will work in the coming months to ensure that the conservation continues and the stories of victims are told. Because consent needs both sides. For consent, every voice is needed.

“If working with Amnesty has done anything for me, it’s that your voice matters. Your story matters. You matter.“

To be honest, I wish I didn’t have to be giving this speech right now. I wish that we didn’t have to be fearful of walking alone at night, that we didn’t have to send our friends our location or cover our drinks at parties.

Activist of the month: February Edition

Activist of the Month (February Edition)

As every week, the Extinction Rebellion General Meeting starts with a so-called “check-in”, where everyone says their name, their pronouns, how they are doing, and then passes the word on to the next person. Sometimes this is followed by a short grounding exercise in which the activists present connect to themselves and thus to each other. Sofie is one of them since August 2021. She was born in Groningen, has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Utrecht, and now teaches at a school in The Hague.

Besides her job, she organizes and participates in climate actions within XR. In the past she organized a Formula 0 on bicycles with other activists during the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Zandvoort. On the “Black Friday” weekend, she put labels on clothes with the slogan “On this black Friday you can get 100% off by not buying anything” and demonstrated alongside 40,000 other people in Amsterdam about a month ago.

With these actions, Sofie wants to attract attention and bring about change. The fear of a violent future drives her. “I am very afraid climate change causes so much human suffering that will then make so many people angry at each other resulting in wars between communities, and nations”. To prevent this scenario, the world must become a more sustainable place by changing the system. A place where a sustainable lifestyle is not a privilege but the norm. The way to get there for Sofie includes legal protests, acts of disobedience, but also changes in her own everyday life as becoming vegan, repairing broken things, and stop flying.

Like the people of Extinction Rebellion, the actions of the organization are diverse, but all follow the principle of peacefulness. “Non-violence is important to be sustainable. If you just go around and destroy something then you show that the only solution to the problem is destruction. Instead, let’s keep the things we have, take care of them and try to use them in a different way.”

Through her activism Sofie is able to tell the world what is going on, but also gets a sense of belonging and security. “Protesting together as a group of people, who all realize that things need to change, makes you feel like you are not alone.” Sofie tells me, that Extinction Rebellion is more than just an action group, it is a community whose members take care of each other.

During actions, wellbeing teams are always on-site, providing activists with water, food, and a listening ear. When arrested members are released, there are people waiting outside the police station to support them and minimize the trauma. Besides, the other members are also there for Sofie when she has little hope or is paralyzed by sadness. Then she is listened to and understood. In Extinction Rebellion there is no hierarchy. No one is paid for their activism. For Sofie, this is the epitome of freedom, which allows her to develop herself. “Extinction Rebellion is such an open and loving space. We really accept everyone or at least we try to. That made me accept myself more and to be comfortable with taking up space for personal growth.” Personal growth instead of economic growth for a future in which all living beings feel safe and at home in and with the environment. A future in which the colorful XR flags are not an outcry but simply an expression of the diversity of life.

I am very afraid climate change causes so much human suffering.

Activist of the month: December Edition

Activist of the Month (December Edition)

I am sitting in the sun with a warm cappuccino and my laptop in front of a café in the center of The Hague when Nasim Malik takes a seat next to me and we start a conversation first about Paralympics and then about human rights. It turns out that Malik is the Secretary of the International Human Rights Commission and is currently working for the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan, to which he belongs. He gives me his business card and I contact him shortly afterward.

A few weeks later we meet again. This time online, as he is back in Sweden, his place of residence. Malik interrupts a conference to tell me how his mother inspired him as a young boy with actions rather than words. “Activism cannot be taught, it must be exemplified.” He remembers how he went with his mother from door-to-door during the conflict between India and Pakistan in 1965 to collect clothes, food, and money for the refugees from the border areas. They had little material to give themselves, but they had time and patience. Back then, they helped in silence.

But when Malik moved to Germany at the age of 19, where he felt the security of a democratic state for the first time, he began to raise his voice and would not lower it for the next 40 years. In 1971, he gets involved as one of the organizers in the protests in Frankfurt against nuclear power and the Indo-Pakistani war. After graduating, he enters politics by joining the SPD, hoping to influence more people. After moving to Sweden, he remains active as a seating member of the city council of Kalmar. In the beginning, he is alone in his opinions and is several times outvoted in elections, but this does not discourage him. “Often decisions were made that I did not agree with. But I was still glad to have been present at the elections. By shouting, I could at least deprive the other politicians of the satisfaction of full consensus.”

He also advocates for minority rights as a member of the Swedish Immigration Board and as Secretary of the International Human Rights Commission. When asked what his latter position entails, he replies with a counter-question: “Did you know that the Ahmadiyyas in Pakistan are subjected to persecution and systematic, state-sanctioned oppression before we talked in that coffee?” I answer in the negative and I realize what he is getting at.

His job is to bring to the world the voices of oppressed minorities whose cries often do not reach beyond the country’s borders like those of many of his friends and family members. Malik writes reports about the inhumane situations of minorities in different countries of the world to inform and awaken people. However, he is not driven by hatred against the perpetrators, but by empathy for the victims. He knows the pain of discrimination and thus the importance of universal human rights. “I do not stand up for Christians, Ahmadiyyas, Rohingyas, or Pakistanis, but for the people behind the stigmatizing labels.”

Rights cannot be divided. Malik cannot give away a piece of freedom of expression, or a piece of religious freedom that he is entitled to as a Swedish citizen. But, as he learned when he moved from house to house with his mother over 50 years ago, you can always give something, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first.

He is not in a position to give human rights directly, but he can gather information and publish it to attract attention and put pressure on governments. Malik is also active outside of work. Activism is not just a suit he takes off when he leaves the office. “Shoveling snow for my elderly neighbors before I go to work so they can leave their house is just as satisfying as discussing minority rights with big-name people at the UN. My personal Hajj is not going to Mecca but helping my neighbors. “

Before we end the phone call, he asks me to help him make more people aware of the situation of minorities like the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan. Being informed is already a form of activism. It creates understanding and empathy, which is what human rights are based on. “The world sometimes seems scary, but I have learned not to run away but to fight, not with a gun but with my pen.”

His mother inspired him as a young boy with actions rather than words. Activism cannot be taught, it must be exemplified.

Activist of the month: November Edition

Activist of the Month (November Edition)

“It was a chilly winter day. I was on my way to the hospital in Khartoum to pick up blood reserves for children in rural areas when I saw a group of about 85 people crouching in front of the entrance. I approached them. It turned out that they were refugees from the conflict zones of the country who had lost everything. The next day I had mobilized numerous helpers who provided the homeless with blankets and food. I had not planned to start my third NGO that day, but if you go through life with your eyes open, you can see the opportunity for activism everywhere, and then you cannot look away anymore.”

Solafa Saad is 29 years old. She is currently studying International Studies at Leiden University and is originally from Sudan. Growing up in the south of the country, she moved to the more conservative north at the age of 17, where, inspired by her father, she began to become active. Solara refused to wear the hijab, and, therefore, stood out with her rebellious, stubborn ways. As she tells me, her activism made her sometimes feel like an outsider. But she realized over time that the experience of being excluded has allowed her to better understand how many minorities feel. It made her more empathetic, and, hence, an even better activist.

In the following six years she dedicates her life completely to the fight for the rights of women, children, refugees, and homeless people. With friends, she starts her first initiative named Sharie Al Hawadith (Accidents Lane) in 2012, which aims to supply medicine to sick children and to expose the incompetence of the government to provide the population with the essentials. One year later, she joins forces with 150 female fellow students from the Ahfad University, her safe space at the time, and develops a platform called Nour (light) through which abused women can contact anonymously a wide network of judges, lawyers, and psychologists, to be supported in their fight for freedom and independence. Additionally, the victims are offered shelter, the opportunity for safe delivery, and further education.

What started in a small lecture hall now includes thousands of dedicated volunteers from a wide variety of social, professional, religious, and cultural backgrounds who are active every day in standing up for others together. There is much that divides them on the surface, but they are deeply connected by the struggle to overcome injustices.

In addition to approval, however, Solafa and her friends encounter aversion. Many believe that the young activists are not working for the rights of Sudanese, but the westernization of Sudanese culture. In addition, the government fears that the young students could use their network to stir up public opinion against the system. Solafa is arrested several times. But instead of letting it get her down, she draws new strength and encouragement. “I have never felt so right as when I went to prison. “She is released again and again and continues to fight until one day she has no other option but to leave her home country and flee to the Netherlands. The initial inaction in the foreign country robs her of any meaning. “Activism is part of my identity. When I am not active, I lose myself.” Soon, however, she begins to get involved again, first in a retirement home and then in the organization of the uprisings in Sudan in 2018/19. It is very hard for her not to be able to experience the overthrow of the government locally.

Nevertheless, she knows that despite the physical distance, she is still part of the movement and the change in her home country. She has paved the ground on which the mostly young Sudanese women are fighting for respect for human rights and diversity. Solafa is still one of them. She marches alongside the other activists.

At the end of our conversation, I ask her what advice she has for other people who want to become active, and she answers: “As an activist, you have to be open not only to change things around you but also to changing yourself. That requires openness, flexibility, and curiosity.” The old you cannot survive in a new world.

I had not planned to start my third NGO that day, but if you go through life with your eyes open, you can see the opportunity for activism everywhere, and then you cannot look away anymore.

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ACTIVIST OF THE MONTH!

PRIOR EVENTS

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