So yesterday to protest the whole Jose Padilla travesty I wore my pink "I obey the Geneva Convention" shirt. And then my 3yo got a bump with a nosebleed (she's fine) and ran to mommy crying and rubbed her nose all over my shirt and I paid no attention and hugged her and cleaned her up which is what I would do anyway except half an hour later I realized I'm wearing an "I obey the Geneva Convention" shirt with dried human blood on it. Very much a Terry Gilliam moment, n'est-ce pas?
So today I wore my Darfur shirt to the grocery store and as I'm walking in there's a guy walking out with an American flag t-shirt and we looked at each other like the other one was crazy. But he was alone and I was with three kids so yeah, I probably was the crazy one, just not because of the shirt.
Geneva Convention shirt with blood? vey funny and give A a hug from her big admirer in the North Country. American Flag guy? He was probably just confused, BG, and thought you were one of those PETA people but couldn't think of an animal called a "dar."
ReplyDeletehappy weekend from TW
Map of Sudan (Darfur) - Chad Border Region showing locations of destroyed villages. It is clickable allowing for additional magnification: Link
ReplyDeleteAn interesting thing that I learned from the Wikipedia:
The conflict began in February 2003. Unlike in the Second Sudanese Civil War, which was fought between the primarily Muslim north and Christian and Animist south, almost all of the combatants and victims in Darfur are Muslim. Nearly all of the residents of Darfur are Muslim, as are the Janjaweed and the government leaders in Khartoum.
The combination of decades of drought, desertification, and overpopulation are among the causes of the Darfur conflict, because the Baggara nomads searching for water have to take their livestock further south, to land mainly occupied by non-Arab farming communities.
The government and Janjaweed attacks upon the non-Baggara civilian populace have resulted in a major humanitarian crisis. There are many casualty estimates, most concurring on a range within the hundreds of thousands. The United Nations (UN) estimates that the conflict has left as many as 450,000 dead from violence and disease. Most NGOs (non-governmental organizations) use 200,000 to over 400,000, a figure from the Coalition for International Justice that has since been cited by the UN. Sudan's government claims that over 9,000 people have been killed, although this figure is seen as counterfactual. As many as 2.5 million are thought to have been displaced as of October 2006.
The Sudanese government suppressed information by jailing and killing witnesses since 2004 and tampering with evidence such as mass graves and eliminating their forensic values. In addition, by obstructing and arresting journalists, the Sudanese government has been able to obscure much of what has gone on.
The mass media once described the conflict as both "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide," and now do so without hesitation. The United States government has described it as genocide, although the UN has declined to do so. (See List of declarations of genocide in Darfur) In March 2007 the U.N. mission accused Sudan's government of orchestrating and taking part in "gross violations" in Darfur and called for urgent international action to protect civilians there.
Wikipedia
Darfur Documentary
This is very Hints From Heloise Blue Gal, but I used to apprentice with a midwife and this came in handy a lot. If the blood is still on the shirt, better untouched as of yet, soak that sucker in hydrogen peroxide until it stops bubbling before washing...cause it's a great shirt.
ReplyDeletepity you didnt take a photo of the tshirt. I remember when I used to dress for the ofice in my crisp white shirt and tie and blue levis and the kids would want a cuddle, and leave sticky breakfast remains visible to passersby.
ReplyDeleteOh what a joy parenting can be. There are more funny stories but another time. Greetings from Melbourne
really good post...tugs at your heart...and now I do know that I have to get me some better tee shirts...
ReplyDeletei think it's a great post!
ReplyDeleteblood is way easier to get out than burped up formula tho.
that i still remember. : )
Thanks Frieda a bucket of COLD water and some "greased lightning" cleaner got it right out. I know the rules about not setting the stain with hot water and not ruining the shirt with (gasp) bleach. Which reminds me I should start a load this morning before Meeting. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteShould have left the blood, I'm thinking.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who used to say that every time she bought something new and white (like a cashmere sweater) she just KNEW that her son would have some kind of bloody accident. It happened every time.
Funny!
ReplyDeleteAnd good Brazil pic. I haven't watched it in a while.
(I once entered the 7-11 across from my apartment at the time early in the morning after a night shoot - the make-up department had given me a big, bloody neck wound for a scene. The guy behind the counter stared but said nothing.
Not as funny since yours was unintentional.)