Heroes Without Medals

Last December, during UUSC's D.C. Days of Action, Rev. Bill Schulz, UUSC's board chair, gave a talk on a trip he made to Kalma camp in Darfur. I was particularly touched by a story he told about seeing a woman in tattered rags wearing a beautiful piece of glass around her neck as a piece of jewelry. When Schulz asked her what it was, she replied, "It is me." It is me....

The story shows that no matter what squalor and degradation people are subjected to, they find ways to overcome their circumstances and bring some form of hope and beauty into their lives. This is what makes us human. This woman in Darfur, no doubt having been subjected to violence and destruction that most of us cannot imagine, still holds onto what is beautiful, her sense of identity, herself.

As the Olympics came to a close and we saw the athletes standing on pedestals wearing gold, silver, and bronze medals, I thought of this woman wearing the glass around her neck and all the other women who are struggling in Darfur.

Although the situation in Darfur is dangerous for all, women and girls are especially vulnerable to violence. In some camps, women make up 80 percent of the population. They show pure determination to survive in conditions of dignity. They work together to protect themselves, leaving their camps together, trying to find safety in numbers. They share their food and water with each other. They work together to form women centers and to speak to leaders about their needs.

Women and girls in Darfur are heroes without medals. Their stories may not be broadcast on NBC, but they can be shared in line at the grocery store, at your next town hall meeting, or over dinner with a friend.

As UUSC works with partners to weave a web of protection for women and girls in Darfur, we need concerned citizens to raise awareness and build solidarity in cities and town around the United States. One way to do this is to order free UUSC Drumbeat for Darfur materials to use in your community.

Click here to order free UUSC tent cards that your community can use to urge the Senate human rights subcommittee to oversee the UNAMID mandate to protect Darfurian women and girls from violence.

We need to demand that our legislators take action to protect women and girls in Darfur. We need to make their struggle as visible as the gold medals around the necks of the athletes at the Bejing Olympics. We need to remember the woman with the glass around her neck who is determined to survive, and do our part to bring hope and beauty back into their lives.