North Carolina interns reflect on the Windows and Mirrors Experience

By: Rebecca Muller

Greensboro, NC. “This is the war that people are trying to forget before it’s over.” This statement, made by Peter Lems – (AFSC program director for education and advocacy on Iraq and Afghanistan) during his talk on the human cost of war in Afghanistan as part of the Windows and Mirrors traveling mural exhibition – is a reminder that the war in Afghanistan continues to have an effect on the lives of every day people, both in the United States and in Afghanistan.

Starlet Tetteh, intern at AFSC, felt that Lems’ presentation on the Economic Cost of War impacted her because it helped her to understand the reality of the lives of Afghanistan youth. One of her favorite murals was the one titled, “I am your sister, you are my brother”.

“I try to live my life and have interactions with other people keeping in mind that they are family so that really spoke to me”, she said.

Tetteh also enjoyed speaking with muralist and artist Ann Northrup, who painted the “Mountain Kites” mural. “Speaking with Ann made that picture have a stronger impact on me ….she wanted people to want to protect that child when they saw the picture. She made it one of the happier pictures. That one really touched me,” she said.

She believes that the murals encourage people to think about politics and foreign policies in a more humane way and allowing them to come to their own conclusions. As a volunteer, Tetteh helped out with several Windows and Mirrors events and also worked with Wake Forest student Mojeeb Nazeri. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan he came to the United States one month before September 11, 2001.

Although Megan Fair, Windows and Mirrors program coordinator for Greensboro, enjoyed all of the programs her favorite event was the opening night event. “It was exciting to see so many people there in the space – it eased my fears because I was nervous that people wouldn’t show up.” Fair also enjoyed meeting the many other people who put energy and time into the project as well as Hannah Swenson, one of the Guilford College students who led the project.

Fair especially enjoyed working on the youth program that was done soon after the opening. “It was really powerful to hear feedback from the youth and to hear how passionate they were about the issues – to know that Windows and Mirrors could have such an influence on how someone viewed the world for possibly the rest of their life”, she said.

Jessica Langley, who was in charge of volunteer recruitment for the Windows and Mirrors Exhibit, found that the Windows and Mirrors exhibit was a reminder of how many millions of people are affected by the war. “For me it kind of gave an account to see how dangerous and treacherous war can be.” She felt particularly affected by the murals that contained images of children. “When you think of children you think of innocence and not having a childhood because of war – they’re losing parents and siblings and they don’t really get to experience a childhood,” Langley said.

Julie Bauer, who volunteered with the set-up of the mural exhibit and the greeting, especially enjoyed meeting members of the Greensboro Muslim community at the Islamophobia dinner and speech. “I knew that they had faced discrimination in this country since September 11, but I never realized how extreme and wide-spread it was, or that it continues now, almost ten years later”, Bauer said.

She felt that hearing their stories firsthand made the experiences all the more personal. “I learned much about Islam as a peaceful religion. It made me think that the barriers that we put between us by culture, religion, and nationality are more arbitrary than real”, she said.

The mural “Almost Impossible to Spear It”, by Laura Swan, was a personal favorite of Bauer’s. A collaboration between the artists and a group of 5th and 6th grade students is covered in reflections on peace written by students. “I love the colors and the way that it presents both an inward reflection and an outward view on the effects of the war. It amazes me that children seem to understand what adults refuse to even see. Most of all, I love the sense of hope that this mural evokes,” Bauer said.

She believes that the war is often ignored because it is occurring so far away and that the Windows and Mirrors exhibit enabled us to see what life is like in Afghanistan and gave people a different perspective. “The Windows and Mirrors exhibit gives everyone who sees it a change to reflect and the opportunity to act,” she said.

Bauer believes that the exhibit is especially important because it makes the war all the more real and personal. “It creates the need to act and is a reminder that things must change.”

HKonJ Emergency Call to Action

From North Carolina NAACP
Friends,

Enough is enough. If you have been watching what is happening on Jones Street you may already feel the same way I feel. The new leadership is pushing a budget and other bills to to devastate public education, fire teachers, fire public workers and other important services, eliminate same day voter registration and early voting, repeal the racial justice act, cut funding to HBCU's, refuse to extend unemployment benefits and much more. They have gone to far and we must let them know that we stand firmly against what they are doing. Please take a moment to look over this issue update by clicking this link: Issue%20Update%20and%20Action%20Alert%20%281%29.pdf, share this with others and join us on May 24th.

HKonJ Emergency Call to Action
May 24, 2011
4:00pm
16 West Jones St., Raleigh, NC

Join us for a PEACEFUL HEARING AND SPEAK-OUT at the General Assembly.

Immigrant Freed From 19-Month Detention

PEDRO GUZMAN IS FREE!
Many of you may remember hearing about the case of Pedro Guzman, wife of Emily, father of Logan (age 4), who was detained for more than 19 months even though he was eligible for immigration relief. Emily and her family bravely spoke out widely about her husband’s unfair detention (including to Immigrant Solidarity Committee meetings and an AFSC-organized forum on detention), and the case became known as an example of how broken the immigration system is. Today, the family is finally reunited. Many congratulations to Pedro, Emily and Logan!!! Read on below for more information.

Updates from Emily’s blog: www.logansdad.org. Join the facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_130698220281936.

From the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/18/immigrant-freed-from-detention_n_863893.html

Immigrant Freed From 19-Month Detention: 'I Treat My Dogs Much Better Than The Detainees Are Treated'

First Posted: 05/18/11 07:09 PM ET Updated: 05/19/11 10:43 AM ET
On Tuesday, for the first time in 19 months, Pedro Guzman left Stewart Detention Center, a privately run facility where he was housed while fighting deportation. The Lumpkin, Ga., detention center is one of many run by Corrections Corporation of America, a prison giant that believes its next major market is immigrant detentions.
Georgia may be its next frontier. The state's anti-illegal immigration bill, styled after Arizona's SB 1070, was signed into law last week. The result could be more immigrants in detention -- and more profits for CCA, which has been accused of mistreating detainees and cutting down on amenities to improve profits.

Meet the Muralist: A Profile of Ann Northrup

Meet the Muralist: A Profile of Ann Northrup
By AFSC-NC Intern Rebecca Muller

Ann Northrup, mural artist for the American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) “Windows and Mirrors” project, hopes that this exhibition can help bring an end to the war in Afghanistan. She believes that art has the power to affect peoples’ emotions, and that the variety of approaches taken by the artists in this show is a source of its power. “Each artist has taken a different approach, exploring his or her own feelings in a search for truth and relevance to the feelings and needs that we all share,” she said.

Northrup, of Philadephia, PA, first received word about the exhibition when AFSC contacted Mural Arts, which sends event notices to all of the artists. Initially she was hesitant about participating in “Windows and Mirrors.” “I assumed the organizers might want only political statements, or angry art about violence. I really wasn’t sure I wanted to delve into those feelings. But then I felt there are probably lots of people like me who turn away if a picture is too upsetting,” Northrup said.

She realized that she could reach out to people with an image of hope. “I wanted to paint a portrait of a child with whom people could identify and whom they would want to protect,” she said. “I wanted to show the beauty of the extraordinary land that is being ravaged by war.” This desire led Northrup to create “Mountain Kites”, a mural depicting a young child with a hopeful expression flying kites over the picturesque mountains of Afghanistan.

She felt that her painting could hark to a time in the future where human aspiration would be possible again as well as to a peaceful future. “I wanted an image that people could identify with, a child that they could fall in love with and that they would want to cherish and protect,” she said.

Northrup had a large collection of photos from foreign lands due to her recent work on a downtown Philadelphia mural called “ One World”, a cinematic scene of blended landscapes and hundreds of people from every continent on a 38 x 48 foot wall. She had asked for pictures from friends, family, and students who had been overseas.

She used five photos in designing for “Mountain Kites”, two for the people and three for the landscape. “It was a little hard sometimes to make sure the images were actually of Afghanistan. I had great pictures, one of the Dolpo Pa people of Nepal. Though I couldn't tell the difference, lots of other people can,” Northrup said.

The medium for the mural is acrylic paint on "parachute cloth" or Polytab, a thin, absorbent non-woven material similar to interfacing. “Once painted, it's a little brittle and delicate, actually, for the use we are putting it to here. Luckily, the organizers abandoned the idea of setting it up outdoors, because the wind would have shredded all the panels by now,” she said.

Her classical training has enabled her to convey an emotional message, and create meaning through color and composition. Northrup wanted to create an atmospheric and soft movement of the landscape back into space and skyward, transitioning from dark to light, warm to cool, and high to low contrast.

Aside from her face, the child has the soft shapes and cool tones represented in the landscape. “Those tones and colors, as well as the two kites she carries, identify her with the flying kite far back in the sky, a symbol of freedom,” Northrup said.

Students have asked Northrup why she believed other painters used colors so different from hers. “Other artists have different things they want to say about the war. Some are angry and feel we are being used, as our tax money is funding the war. They may use strident color because they want to be noticed and they want us to feel jarred by their message. Others want to express their horror at the human suffering, and they may use dark or heavy color to express that,” she said.

Northrup believes that the symbolism of art has a unique way of influencing people. “I feel like art has a special power to reach into the subconscious and affect people on a deeper level, sometimes without their noticing. I think you are affected by these associations, even if you don't notice the techniques of how associations are made visually.”



This interview was conducted in conjunction with the national, traveling mural exhibition Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan, currently on display in Guilford College’s Library Atrium through May 7th, 1pm.

Vengeance Belongs to G-d

This article was featured on the Washington Post Blog "On Faith" on May 2,2011 Max Carter is the Director of Friends Center at Guilford College. To view the article on the Washington Post blog click here

Vengeance belongs to G-d
By:Max Carter

Shortly after the attacks of 9/11, footage was beamed around the world of people allegedly dancing on rooftops and in the streets, rejoicing at the news. Americans (and others) were rightly appalled. As it turns out, those were isolated incidents, overwhelmed by the more typical response of candlelight vigils and expressions of sympathy. I hope that the jubilation in the streets shown following the announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death was similarly just a “snapshot” of responses and that the majority of people have a more measured reaction. As Gary Cooper, playing Jess Birdwell in “Friendly Persuasion,” said to his little boy, who had told him to go “kill a Johnny Reb for me, papa” - “Don’t ever talk that way about a man’s life.”
Or as a number of students here at Guilford College - one of the places where “jubilation in the streets” was not the norm - have said: “Our battle is against powers and pricipalities, systems of injustice, and not flesh and blood,” referencing scripture.
Interestingly, on the same day as the announcement of bin Laden’s death, our local paper carried a review of David Goldfield’s “America Aflame,” a scholarly look at the enormous cost in human life and treasure of the Civil War. Goldfield calculated that the war was not inevitable, that the goals of the war could have been achieved by less costly means - but that the prevailing political and religious climate made it difficult to solve the matters peaceably.
I wonder if we are not seeing a similarly sad situation now. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost trillions of dollars and countless human lives. That certainly should temper our “jubilation” at the death of bin Laden. In a mural exhibit on our campus entitled “Windows and Mirrors: the human cost of the war in Afghanistan,” sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, a panel depicts the numbers of Afghan civilians killed at wedding celebrations alone. Six separate air strikes on people expressing their own jubilation at the marriage of happy couples had killed nearly 400.
I am not personally celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden. My religious faith tells me that vengeance is the L-rd’s and that I am to follow in the way of Christ - letting love be my first motion. I don’t condone what Bid Laden did or preached, but I cannot justify killing thousands upon thousands in order to exact justice on one person. I think G-d expects better of us.