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Leymah Gbowee’s Followers (29)
Leymah Gbowee
Born
in Liberia
February 01, 1972
Website
More books by Leymah Gbowee…
“The person who hurt you--who raped you or killed your family--is also here. If you are still angry at that person, if you haven't been able to forgive, you are chained to him. Everyone could feel the emotional truth of that: When someone offends you and you haven't let go, every time you see him, you grow breathless or your heart skips a beat. If the trauma was really severe, you dream of revenge. Above you, is the Mountain of Peace and Prosperity where we all want to go. But when you try to climb that hill, the person you haven't forgiven weighs you down. It's a personal choice whether or not to let go. No one can tell you how long to mourn a death or rage over a rape. But you can't move forward until you break that chain.”
― Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War
― Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War
“Sometimes, people call my way of speaking ranting. Why are you always ranting and screaming, they ask. But here’s the thing…the reason why I rant is because I am a voice for many women that cannot speak out to heads of state, UN officials, and those that influence systems of oppression. And so I rant. And I will not stop ranting until my mission of equality of all girls is achieved.”
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“Organizations like the UN do a lot of good, but there are certain basic realities they never seem to grasp ...Maybe the most important truth that eludes these organizations is that it's insulting when outsiders come in and tell a traumatized people what it will take for them to heal.
You cannot go to another country and make a plan for it. The cultural context is so different from what you know that you will not understand much of what you see. I would never come to the US and claim to understand what's going on, even in the African American culture. People who have lived through a terrible conflict may be hungry and desperate, but they are not stupid. They often have very good ideas about how peace can evolve, and they need to be asked.
That includes women. Most especially women ...
To outsiders like the UN, these soldiers were a problem to be managed. But they were our children.”
― Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War
You cannot go to another country and make a plan for it. The cultural context is so different from what you know that you will not understand much of what you see. I would never come to the US and claim to understand what's going on, even in the African American culture. People who have lived through a terrible conflict may be hungry and desperate, but they are not stupid. They often have very good ideas about how peace can evolve, and they need to be asked.
That includes women. Most especially women ...
To outsiders like the UN, these soldiers were a problem to be managed. But they were our children.”
― Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War
Topics Mentioning This Author
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Around the World: Karen's List | 11 | 110 | Dec 26, 2011 11:13AM | |
| The 104 Book Chal...: Tiennie's 2011 104 Book Challenge Finished! And now to be continued... | 202 | 105 | Dec 30, 2011 11:13PM | |
| The Liberal Polit...: 2011 peace prize | 4 | 13 | Jan 03, 2012 07:30AM | |
| Around the World: Kimberly's 2013 List | 14 | 56 | Jan 21, 2013 08:20PM | |
| Around the World ...: Dlmrose - 2014 Frequent Flyer | 33 | 137 | Jan 04, 2015 09:36AM | |
| History Books By ...: Suggested Titles | 2 | 3 | Apr 20, 2017 10:19AM | |
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