As I watched the documentary film” Pushing The Elephant”, the story of Rose Mapendo, a Congolese woman who survived the war with her family & dedicated her life to making sure that her story & the stories of others are told; I realized just how important the role of filmmakers, writers, activists & everyday people who choose to love, care & be in the front lines fighting for justice, peace, freedom & humanity toward their fellow human are to our society. I also realized the power of women & the much needed roles we play in this world through our undeniable strength & endurance. As we close out Women’s History Month, I am glad to discover the stories of everyday women who stood up as giants for what is right, by helping themselves & others survive unimaginable horrors.
Rose & many others have answered the call to be the voice of the voiceless & through her pain we can all learn about how to heal & live our lives as better human beings. Without these people in our world many will be left with untold stories. Without these people in our world we will continue to be desensitized without knowing the real & true stories of wars, rape, family, love, nation, universal kinship & survival.
Where would these stories be without outlets like PBS? We must stand up for what is important in our world because as we all turn a blind eye saying it isn’t me or it doesn’t effect me , one never knows when one’s story will need to be told through the safety & compassion of people who care & people who have been there & survived. As we wage war in yet another African nation keeping the continent from ever being whole, while pretending & indulging in hypocrisy as we trade bombs for peace & call it a solely humanitarian effort, we must watch these stories & see the real faces, places, stories & casualties of war in order to understand that war is never the answer or solution because life after war is often a life long process to healing & finding freedom.
I cried throughout watching this story because I could not fathom how human beings can behave so cruelly toward one another nor could I fathom the strength it takes to survive such cruelty. I couldn’t fathom the feeling of a mother or a sister having to sacrifice their body in rape to save a son or brother nor the soullessness of the men who found nothing wrong with such requests & horrific actions. Seeing this story made me understand that I can never be for war or stand for lies to justify war because if humans are not complicit in fighting war then there will be no wars. I also realized the power of freedom that forgiveness brings & the purpose life holds when you dedicate it to truly serving your fellow human in the most altruistic manner. We must stop allowing our leaders from leading us into wars that have our children, men, women, boys & girls as constants pawns, casualties & ultimate bearers of lifelong suffering, when those that call for war never make the ultimate sacrifice to fight or put their families in harms way. Why would anyone choose to suffer for the desires of the powerful & wealthy to attain more power & wealth on our backs as we continue the cycle over & over again of pushing coffins & baring the lifelong scars of rape. We as everyday human beings know survival & how to share the wealth in order to live in peace; therefore we must stop doing the bidding of others who do not have our collective interests at heart. As Rose says “one person alone can not push an elephant, but many people together can push an elephant..”
“Freedom is not something that one people can bestow on another as a gift. Thy claim it as their own and none can keep it from them. We face neither East nor West: We Face Forward“! Dr. Nkrumah
To the Brave women who have endured the horrors of the ultimate sacrifice of war & rape …We Honor & Salute You!
“We are powerful because we have survived…”–Audre Lorde
”When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”
Jimi Hendrix
PUSHING THE ELEPHANT ON PBS: CHECK FOR LOCAL LISTINGS HERE