Human Rights and Money
Dear Colleagues,
Today in the morning, I was having breakfast with two friends and colleagues of mine and we were talking about Human rights work and how sometimes it varies depending on culture, country and even families.
however along the way there was an issue that was raised; about human rights and money.
one of my two friends believes that money is everything, he believes that money gives power so he believes the best way to engage in human rights advocacy you need money to be able to do your advocacy;
in his own words, he says; I strongly believe that my work as a human rights activist would make sense if I was a big business person with lots of money because then I would have influence that would actually put me at a negotiation table to influence policies and so protect those who are oppressed, I feel that I don't have to alert the international community or the other partners to give some one a protection he/she deserves before I consulting anyone; I would feel valuable if I find some oine along the way who needs protection or who needs support and in a position to do it with out consultations. he further siad that if he had money and therefore influence he would maybe advocate for the oppressed because he is powerful and this reminded me of a person who actually once mentioned we "People dont need to commit revolutionary Suicide",
another however thinks that having money causes alot of oppressions when it comes to the poor, she believes that when rich people get into areas their policies sometimes oppresses the poor of the communities and so she believes that rich people are powerful but there is need of balance between money and humanity. they both mentioned of the influence of catholic curch to alot of policies due to accumulated fiancndes and activities in different countries as some of the strategies to gain power.
they however came up with suggestions that Human Rights activists should study alot to have some things to offer to communities and for them to become influencial especially when it comes to policies.
any way both two friensds of mine are right but they have one thing in common which is influence now my questiion is " how should Human rights activists attain influence? which ways or means should be used? should they even have influence?
Thanks for your contribution.
Comments
But I think Ghandi sums it up best when he said this: "Be the change that you want to see in the world." It is so important to reflect on those words.
As human rights activists, we must be that change. We must live it every day, in all that we do. And so there can be no taking time off. No concentrating on money before we can concentrate on human rights.
In fact, we need to look at it as a both/and. We can raise money while doing it in a positive way. We can raise awareness and raise money. Perhaps this will take more time, but it is what I seek to do with my life. I think this is so much more powerful than the illusion of power that "having lots of money to do anything we want" gives us. We cannot make change alone; we must enlist our brothers and sisters (and that includes everyone) to do the same. Any by the way, these brothers and sisters include those people who we are seeking to help! They must be active participants in this. We owe them that respect.
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All the best!
Akinyi Adongo
www.infoafricanow.com