Women's Media Nation | Social, political, and cultural issues relating to women

Dangerous Gigs: The price we pay for the causes closest to our hearts

posted by ChickSpeak
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 7:28pm CDT

Twenty-three-year-old Rachel Corrie fought to the death for the people who mattered most to her. As an American Human Rights Worker living in Palestine, she had seen the atrocities of war firsthand and wanted the world to know about the kind of work that she was doing.

In a series of emails sent to her family, she shared the nightmarish details of her day to day struggle to protect the lives and homes of innocent Palestinians from the Israeli soldiers who threatened them.

Her last attempt to make a difference came on March 16, 2003 when she stood in front of bulldozer determined to destroy the home of a physician and his family in the Gaza Strip.

Despite efforts to stop the young man of any wrongdoing, Corrie was ignored and run over not once but twice by the bulldozer. The peaceful activist later died in the hospital from her injuries.

Corrie’s legacy lives on through her parents, enormously supportive friends and peers as well as countless individuals whose lives she touched. An award-winning play titled My Name is Rachel Corrie and numerous books containing her personal accounts and journal entries keep her name on the tongue of legislators. Never forgetting what kind of positive impact one person’s efforts can be in changing the world, The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice picks up where the young woman left off. Paying the ultimate price for the families that she embraced as her own, Corrie had what critics would call a “dangerous gig”.

One Tree Hill

Julia “Butterfly” Hill protested unethical logging practices by spending two years living in a redwood tree in which she lovingly named “Luna”. She was urged, pressured and eventually threatened by the Pacific Lumber Company to leave her perch 180 feet off the ground but she refused to budge.

Treacherous weather conditions, cramped living quarters, numerous threats and sheer boredom threatened the environmentalist’s plight. Eventually coming to terms with the Lumber Company, Hill agreed to leave “Luna” under the condition that the tree would be preserved. The book, the Legacy of Luna, gives insight to what it is like to be one of the most spirited activists of her time.

Labor of Love?

The families of two American Journalists being detained in North Korea know what it’s like to be on pins and needles waiting to hear news about their loved ones. The men and women are anxious to learn the fate of Euna Lee and Laura Ling who were accused of illegally entering the country while on assignment. Sentenced to 12 years in a hard labor camp on June 8, 2009, the two reporters were found guilty despite repeated pleas of their innocence.

Simply doing their job, the women are the cause of many protests being held around the world. President Obama is even working to negotiate a plan for their safe release.

The young women that are featured here today may have not known each other but their passion for the type of work that they were doing resonates loud enough for everyone to hear. Although many will say that their intentions were misleading or convoluted, those who know them best will disagree. Risking their lives for a cause, each has made their mark on the world in a very real and permanent way.

I invite you to think for a moment, faithful ChickSpeak readers, about what in your life is worth fighting for?

Although we may not have the guts to stand up to oppressors or in the line of fire, we each can make a difference in even the most subtle ways. Start out by sharing these stories with the people that are important to you. Empower yourself with as much knowledge as possible and use your voice as an instrument to inspire change. Believe it or not, the smallest acts often deliver the greatest results. There is no better time than today to help others or change someone else’s circumstances.

Charissa Arsaoui is a freelance writer with a love for arts and crafts and thrift-related topics. Bitten by the writing bug the moment her first story was published in the Gumball Gazette when she was six years old, the self-proclaimed “Closet Coupon Clipper” has written hundreds of articles about personal finance, relationships, career advice and party planning. Most currently, you can find her work at Buzzine, an Arts and Entertainment Magazine in L.A., ChickSpeak and DisFunkshion Magazine as a contributing writer.

Photo from rachelcorrie.org