“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
Our Shared Shelf
— 223094 members
— last activity Jan 21, 2026 10:30AM
OUR SHARED SHELF IS CURRENTLY DORMANT AND NOT MANAGED BY EMMA AND HER TEAM. Dear Readers, As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading ...more
¡ POETRY !
— 22569 members
— last activity Dec 24, 2025 01:37PM
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read ...more
SURJ KC Families & Education Cores: Book Discussion
— 20 members
— last activity Jul 05, 2018 12:29PM
This page will help us facilitate the book club discussions for the SURJ KC - Families core group for those of us that can't make it to our in-person ...more
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
— 26871 members
— last activity Jan 22, 2026 09:16PM
An annual reading challenge to to help you stretch your reading limits and explore new voices, worlds, and genres! The challenge begins in January, bu ...more
Amy’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Amy’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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