It is my firm belief that the kind of work Outreach International is involved in provides more than just health care, education, economic security, and nutrition. It devlops more than self-esteem and an ability to voice struggles to those in power.
Outreach International prevents shoes being thrown at presidents.
You may or may not sympatize with Muntader al-Zaidi, the journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush, but that's beside the point.
Far too often, wars begin because there is a fight over limited resources. Economic insecurity breeds political insecurity which breeds conflict. Of course wars, and in particular the Iraq war, cannot be described in such simplistic terms. But I can't help but think about Outreach's philosphy -- building community, and then supporting that community in solving their own problems -- and wonder if States adopted this way of working out problems, there would be as many international conflicts as there are these days. Bush claimed that American soldiers were going to come to Iraq as liberators. Cue the images of Iraquis showering us with flowers and praise.
Needless to say, it didn't didn't work out that way. Hundreds of Iraqi civilians are still dying every day and Iraqi journalists are risking their lives to report the truth. Zaidi was one of the people who was supposed to be lauding us. Maybe at one point he did. But then he saw too many children dying of American "smart" bombs. Throwing his shoes at the most powerful person in the world strikes me as a (mostly) nonviolent way to relieve some extreme anger -- and much less risky than his day job.
As Zaidi threw his second shoe he shouted, "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!"
I can't help but wonder if instead of bombing the streets of Iraq, Outreach International or organizations like Outreach would have been able support people coming together to find their own solutions to economic and political insecurities. And if so, would there would be so many widows and orphans?
What do you think?
-Karyn Wingard-Manuel
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