On Saturday night in El Cajon, Calif., Iraqi-born Shaima Alawadi was beaten to death in what appears to be a clear hate crime. The perpetrator left a note reportedly reading: "Go back to your own country. You're a terrorist." Such a vicious crime is already horrific enough; the hateful, ignorant motivations that seem to be behind it make it even worse.

My heart and thoughts go out to Alawadi's family and community, who are surely reeling with shock and grief. And honestly, we all should be. While it's clear we live in a country where harmful stereotypes of Muslims abound and create a culture in which events like this seem on some level unsurprising, it is simply unacceptable. And we all need to stand up, speak up, and do everything that we can to stop this from happening.   

Commentary on this horrific murder is all over social media, a fact which seems to garner more New York Times coverage than the murder itself. I saw a tweet the other day that poignantly drew a parallel between the murder of Alawadi and that of Trayvon Martin:

From #TrayvonMartin to #ShaimaAlawadi - from hoodies to headscarves. it's been a sad week, America. #LoseTheHate

— Amina Waheed (@atwaheed) March 25, 2012

Stereotypes and profiling engender a dangerous thought process: Alawadi was a Muslim who wore a head scarf, so she must be a terrorist; Martin was a black youth who wore a hoodie, so he must be a criminal. Among other things, these attitudes distance people as "other" and dehumanize them.

The damage and pain caused by such attitudes is obvious, as we see in these recent headlines. But it's even more insidious than first glance reveals. The prevalence of individuals who engage in this kind of profiling and "othering" makes it possible to pass legislation that does the same, like the recent anti-immigrant laws in Arizona. In effect, this creates a feedback loop in which those laws bolster the individual attitudes, which further reinforce discriminatory laws, ad infinitum. Stereotyping and profiling create a culture of fear that reaches all levels of our culture, from individual interactions to broad government policy. And we must break this cycle.

We can start on an individual level. In the midst of these tragic murders, I hope that people will band together against hate and start truly building bridges of understanding among the many people and cultures our country is home to. UUSC works every day against hateful racial and religious profiling, and we want you to join us. There is no place for Islamophobia, for racism, or for oppression of any kind in the world we are trying to create.

International Women's Day — which celebrates the economic, political, and social achievements of women throughout the world — is March 8. And while I believe we should honor women's accomplishments every day, International Women's Day is a great reminder. This year, one of the women on my mind is Michelle-Ange Augustin, whom I met when I was in Haiti last May. Known as Mimine, she is the construction engineer for the eco-village, an innovative project in rural Haiti created by the Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP) with support from UUSC.

Mimine is 30 years old (same as me!), and she grew up in the MPP community in the Central Plateau, several hours outside of Port-au-Prince. When I talked to her about how she became a construction engineer, she told me, "I always liked the types of jobs that men do. I had a choice when I was in high school. I always said to myself that if I didn't learn to be an engineer, I wanted to learn agronomy."

When MPP decided they need to send one of their members to Port-au-Prince for engineering training, she jumped at the chance to volunteer. MPP paid for the course, and she learned the ins and outs of what it takes to be a construction engineer. She was the only woman in a class of 25 people.

With her technical skills and no-nonsense leadership style, Mimine has managed the physical creation of the eco-village, from the foundation trenches to the roofs overhead. There, a new community has sprouted, with 10 displaced families rebuilding their lives after surviving the 2010 earthquake. That's 10 homes and 10 solid foundations for a new start.

In addition to its goals of sustainable agriculture and food security, MPP is dedicated to gender equality and advocates for women's rights. And it's clear that they walk their talk when it comes to making sure women have equal opportunities. During one conversation I had with Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, MPP founder and leader, he told me that as he prepares for eventual retirement, he is training two people to share the top leadership when he steps down — and he made sure one of them was a woman.

As a handwritten sign in the dining hall and community room of MPP's training center in Papaye says, "San Famn Chanjman Pa Posib" ("Without Women Change Is Not Possible"). That simple, powerful statement sums up why women and girls are at the center of so much of UUSC's work throughout the world. So today, tomorrow, and every day, I want to honor all of the women we work with to make change — from Mimine in Haiti to Dalia in Egypt, from Maria in the U.S. South to Jackie in Uganda.

A few days ago, the Occupy Boston General Assembly passed a resolution related to the human right to water. It stated, in its entirety, "Occupy Boston resolves that clean water is a human right."

What I love about this resolution is its simplicity. On some level, the issue is that simple — every person deserves clean water. No ifs, ands, or buts. Working on this issue, we can get caught up in all the details, the intricacies, and the multifaceted arguments about why people deserve clean water, how they're being denied it, and what remedies should be implemented. Sometimes it's good to be reminded of the simple principle that underlies it all.  

Another thing I love about this resolution is the group that created it. The fact that Occupy Boston — part of a movement for economic justice largely motivated by economic inequalities — passed this resolution shows how interrelated various human-rights issues are. Who is likely to have their water shut off? People without the means to pay their water bills. And people with low or no income are the ones that have to deal with contaminated water because they don't have the money to buy clean bottled water — or to donate to candidates who will advance the human right to water on their behalf.

Mass Global Action, one of UUSC's partners working on the human right to water, has been very supportive of Occupy Boston because they understand the connection. They've allowed protesters to use their office for meetings and offered drinking water during protests. Building this kind of solidarity between movements is key to moving forward.

The interrelatedness of these human rights is one of the reasons that UUSC works on multiple issues — because on a fundamental level, they're the same issue. Social justice is about ending oppression in its many forms. When it comes down to it, we're all working to make sure that the humanity and dignity of each and every person is honored and upheld.

In the wake of mass arrests and reports of police brutality at Occupy Boston last night, it feels important to do two things: reiterate why people are occupying Dewey Square and highlight the incredible ways in which they are doing so. Occupy Boston is part of an inspiring movement, just one of the offshoots of Occupy Wall Street that are now under way throughout the country. I witnessed this movement firsthand when I visited the Occupy Boston camp on Sunday and Monday. What I saw — a rousing and poignant UU-led service and solidarity vigil; the impressive process of Occupy Boston's general assembly; a spirited march of hundreds, maybe thousands, of labor supporters, students, and occupiers together in solidarity — made it clear to me that this is a strong movement dedicated to economic justice and nonviolent protest.

Let's underscore that — people are occupying Dewey Square in the name of economic justice. They are using nonviolent action and exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly to call attention to corporate greed, to undue influence of corporations on the political process, and to the ways that the 99 percent that have been disenfranchised by this country's broken systems. For further elucidation of this movement's concerns, check out the clip of Keith Olbermann reading the Occupy Wall Street protesters' declaration below.

Further, the people of Occupy Boston are carrying out their nonviolent protest in powerful — and incredibly well organized — ways. There are at least 12 working groups in action, addressing everything from safety and food to facilitation and arts. As you walk through the camp, you see tents for logistics, media, medical services, sign making, outreach, spirituality, and more.

Occupy Boston is governed by horizontal democracy based on consensus. On Sunday night, I took part in the general assembly. As one of the facilitators explained, "The general assembly is a decision-making body that uses consensus. Our definition [of this] is a process of nonviolent conflict resolution. The expression of concern and conflicting ideas is valuable and important." After an explanation of the people's mic, consensus process and accompanying hand signals, and updates from the working groups, proposals are made and the consensus process begins.

That night, an ad hoc working group made a proposal to dedicate Friday's general assembly to anti-racism and anti-oppression training, a proposal that was met with vast support. The consensus process is long, hard, thorough work. But it ensures that concerns are addressed — one of the concerns about this proposal was the effect of not having the usual decision-making time that general assembly offers — and that there is group support and buy-in for all decisions made. The proposal passed; support for the essential work of addressing oppression and privilege in the movement was clear.

Today, I'm tired from staying up till after 1:00 a.m. refreshing my Twitter feed (great alternative and complement to mainstream coverage for all things #occupy) for on-the-ground updates from Occupy Boston in Dewey Square. But while I may be physically tired, I am truly energized by what I've witnessed. The Occupy movement is powerful nonviolent collection action and a momentous call for economic justice that cannot be ignored.

The UUSC-UUA JustWorks trip to Haiti for youth and young adults has just begun! As one of the UUSC staff people on our most recent trip to Haiti, I'm really excited for this group of young people to be introduced to our partner the Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP). They will be learning directly from them and lending some muscle power to an eco-village project, which will provide homes and sustainable livelihoods for 40 families displaced from Port-au-Prince by the earthquake.

Founded by Chavannes Jean-Baptiste in 1973, MPP is a national grassroots movement that trains and empowers small farmers to improve their lives and support their livelihoods. Our week in the Central Plateau in May left me deeply inspired — by the sights, smells, and sounds of the countryside; by the thoughtful engagement of the trip participants; and by the people and work of MPP.

The MPP logo is a good place to start to understand the organization's roots and aspirations. At the center of the logo is a drum that represents traditional Haitian culture. MPP is dedicated to preserving the food, dancing, song, and history that make the Haitian people unique. Development and change that disregards the richness of Haitian culture is not progress.

The hand tools on either side of the drum — a machete, a pick-axe, and a hoe — symbolize the peasants and their agricultural way of life, most specifically a traditional form of agriculture that uses organic, non-mechanized methods. MPP rejects the practices of industrial agriculture — and its many problems — found elsewhere in the world. On the May trip to Haiti, our muscles became familiar with these tools, whether we were using pick-axes to dig ditches for the eco-village foundations or machetes to prepare tires for the Road to Life gardens. From rainwater collection to organic farming techniques, MPP uses environmentally sustainable methods to lessen their impact on the earth and to ensure their self-reliance. Something like 90 percent of what we ate at MPP was grown, raised, produced, and prepared right at MPP (some of my favorites were the MPP peanut butter, mango jam, and fresh beets).

The palm tree at the pinnacle of the MPP logo represents liberty — the freedom of the Haitian people to live their lives as they wish, the right to self-determination. This palm tree grows out of the foundation of Haitian culture. For MPP, freedom does not mean turning their back on their culture and history.

And finally, the part of the logo I most love — the conch shell, which represents a sounding call for solidarity, the gathering of community. As an organization based on cooperative structures, MPP relies on strong community relationships. In May, Chavannes told us about the first MPP meetings in 1973: "The first subject we spoke about was love. We reflected: What is love? What is friendship?" He even composed a song that spoke to the vision of community they wanted to cultivate. We witnessed myriad ways that the people of MPP foster strong ties, from their organization as collectives and the local radio station they run in the Central Plateau all the way down to a dance party that celebrated the graduation of a training class.

The 11 youth and young adults that have embarked on a UUSC-UUA service-learning trip will become part of that community for the week they're there and beyond. They will be a living embodiment of UUSC's eye-to-eye partnership model — as they listen to their work-site instructions, as they haul rocks and build foundations, and as they create connections with MPP members. To read about their experience, keep an eye on our JustWorks blog and the UUA's Faith Without Borders blog as they begin their adventure!  

This past Thursday was the finale of the Boston Muslim Film Festival, an exciting project of the American Islamic Congress (AIC), a UUSC partner. I tagged along with Anna Bartlett, UUSC's associate for civil liberties, to the final film screening, the New England premiere of Musulmans de France. Karim Miské's acclaimed documentary provides a compelling look at France's history as experienced by French Muslims.

Engaging from beginning to end, the film details the evolution of French Muslims' cultural identity, the discrimination and violence they have experienced as the result of that identity, and the powerful movement for equal rights and treatment. And it does so in a range of voices of those living the experience, featuring interviews with a top female senator, an interfaith priestess, a French-Congolese rapper, and screenwriter Abdel Raouf Dafri.

Following the film, there was a spirited discussion between the audience and the three panelists: Consul General of France Christophe Guilhou, AIC's Nasser Weddady, and Musulmans de France director Karim Miské (via videoconference). Each of the panelists brought their perspectives to bear on a discussion that covered a range of topics, from the filmmaker's process to the recent controversial French ban on face veils in public.

One of the major things I took away from the screening was the extent to which the distinction between cultural/secular Muslims and religious Muslims is lacking in mainstream discourse. Islam is not only a religion, it is also a culture that has grown up around that religion and many people that consider themselves Muslims are not devout religious practitioners of Islam. This is a nuance that seems to be left out of discussions on present-day discrimination against Muslims, leaving us with an incomplete picture of who Muslims — in France, in the United States, throughout the world — really are and how they live their lives. Musulmans de France fills out that picture and provides us all with valuable history and context to inform us as we move forward with vital civil-liberties work in solidarity with Muslim Americans.

Last week, we got a great progress report from our partner the Oasis Institute in Haiti — construction at Camp Oasis is moving along! Created with support from UUSC, Camp Oasis is a secure home and school that will be a safe haven for 40 girls who were orphaned after the earthquake. Construction is going well, and even the girls are helping out with the process!

Step by step, the cottages that will serve as shelter are going up — framing, hurricane ties, floors, walls. HaitiTec inspectors are ensuring that the structures are safe and well made. The septic tank arrived, and plumbing for the showers and toilets are being installed. And this week, they are getting ready to put the roofs on!

A roof over their heads is not the only thing that these girls will get from Camp Oasis. With a secure place to live, they are less likely to be the victim of gender-based violence, which is rampant in the camps for internally displaced earthquake survivors. And through the school, they will have educational opportunities they might not have had otherwise. All of this together means that the girls will have a better chance at a brighter future.

Moving forward, once the initial plans for Camp Oasis have been implemented, the project will scale up to include a boys' camp and eventually transition into a long-term boarding school. We're sure to hear more from Camp Oasis soon — especially since they'll be visited this week by the participants on our first medical trip to Haiti, who will be there to offer vital medical services. I'm excited to hear how construction is progressing — and how the girls are doing!