RAMADAN MUBARAK

RAMADAN MUBARAK TO EVERYONE 

AUGUST 3 2014 SINJAR TWO POEMS TO HONOR YEZIDI

Remembering August 3, 2014 – 2017    By Celine Leduc

AN UNKNOWN PEOPLE ATTACKED

The Yezidi --- of Sinjar --- Iraq

Their sorrow their pain is unknown.

Reporters focus on war the Daesh

The criminals --- their victory

They fear the Daesh ignore Yezidi.

Few heroes to speak for the Yezidi

Fewer talk about the people

Their lives are not in our history books

Men women children are slaughtered

Women and children enslaved

Bought and sold as slaves

Leaders men of the world say

It is a genocide a horror

Yet, few countries fast-track their migration.

Some flee to the UK others are stuck

Stuck in camps waiting for an answer

An answer slow in coming people are dying.

The people are murdered by Daesh

Killed by leaders who fear the Daesh

Yezidis die because of POLITICS

IGNORANCE AND CONFUSION By Celine Leduc

Yezidi face a Euro-media identity crisis

They are from Iraq Sinjar

Yet many see a Yezidi and think Arab.

Yezidi are NOT Arabs 

They may wear keffiyeh and thawb

Clothing does not make them Arabs.

Yezidi have Semitic features

They look like:   Jews or Christian or Muslims,

Yezidi predate all they have their own spirituality.

Ignorance of the people kills

Causes undue fear in the hearts of Euro-mindset

As they think they (Arabs) all look alike

Arab has become synonymous of Muslim

Jews and Muslim face that same discrimination

Based on the same ignorance of people

Confusion arises in the streets of the UK

Confusion arises in the streets of Euro-America

As no one see difference, no one asks

No one asks before attacking that Arab

Confusing the Yezidi with the Daesh

They have been killed by Daesh

Today in the streets of the UK the USA

They are identified as Arabs as the Daesh

By confused ignorant Euro-mindset.

Ignorance and confusion is a disease

There is a cure education get to know

Know the people as individuals

People are individuals in a society

Society is diverse like nature

Nature and diversity were created by God/Allah.

The Devil sees conformity can only see one

He says They all look alike

Making him against Nature Diversity and God/Allah.

The Devil says I am created in HIS image

Negating the place of Women

Negating diversity nature and Creation

The Devil says only one religion mine

So, he kills in the name of god

He accuses other of devil worship

God/Allah is unknown unseen

God/Allah is known by the universe

Earth is diversity which includes worship

RAMADAN MUBARAK RAMADAN KAREEN --- THE MONTH OF RAMADAN

The month of Ramadan by Celine Leduc May 29, 2017

Happy Ramadan to all Muslims.  Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.  There are three responsibilities that each one of us has during this Holy Month:  Our first responsibility is toward Allah (God) the second to ourself and third towards others therefore Muslims fast.  Fasting makes us more compassionate and we develop empathy towards those who are poor because we feel hunger and thirst. 

What Allah wants is that we human beings not only rad but put in practice the principles of Qur’an or the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Bible because we are People of the Book. Each of these religions was given a revelation through various Prophets. Fasting and charity is an integral part of all three religion.

Fasting is part of Sharia Law (Islamic law) and it is based on compassion.  The person that fasts must be in good health.  It is a sin for a healthy person who does not fast however it is a bigger sin if the person fasts and in poor health.  If a person is diabetic they cannot fast.  Individual needs to follow what the doctor’s instructions and make sure they can fast.   If the person travels they are not obliged to fast.  If a woman is pregnant or has her period she cannot fast.  She has a choice to give money or to fast later.  These are all about compassion and health.  The message is simple: Do not hurt yourself and do not hurt other human being that is a principle of Islam and of Ramadan.

Fasting does create a solidarity with the poor who eat sporadically.  It creates a bond between people who are hungry and thirsty.   Alms or Zakat will relieve the hunger of those who are poor.  Some Muslim associations and mosques offer Ramadan Food baskets other celebrate iftar the breaking of the fast with a community meal.  Some Muslim women visit or make food for abused and battered women and give kids gifts. Other will make food basket and give money to food banks or groups that offer food at a very low cost.  Others will go and visit the elderly and or people who live alone.  Charity and the gift of the self is part of all religions which means to look after the most vulnerable: the elderly, women and children around the world.  We need to help and look after those in war torn countries. Countries that suffer from disaster or lack of food and water.  Hunger exists in Montreal, in Quebec, in Canada, in the Caribbean, in the Middle East in Iraq, in Syria and the African continent. 

My wish is PEACE for all, real peace starts with the self with our community and those countries at war defending themselves against invaders and living under the treats of bombs.  Pre-Islam and after Islam came this holy month of Ramadan people did not go to war they found peace.  Unfortunately, some people do not respect the sanctity of the month that reminds us and tells us do not hurt yourself or others.   Peace --- Salam – Shalom

intersectionality a call to action by Celine Leduc

intersectionality a call to action by Celine Leduc 

Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw who teaches law at Columbia has been documenting the murder of women of African descent for over thirty years.  The double tragedy is that nothing is done to find the guilty, many of them have been killed by the police and their names are never published.  She puts a name and a face to those murdered women.  She developed the theory of intersectionality which describes the place women of African descent are socially.  Euro-American men get away literally with murder and racism. 

An Afro-American woman took a company to court for racism, she lost her case because the company hired women and Afro-Americans.  However, the office staff was made up of women who were of Euro-Americans and the Afro-American men worked in the factory. 

Some Euro-feminist group do speak out against violence towards Afro-American women.  However, they concentrate on the internal violence which is in their community and identify their men as the guilty one.  Their men are perceived erroneously as criminals which is what prison records show there are more Afro-Americans in jail than any other group except for First Nation young men.  In a way, Euro-American/Canadian women back their men and the police stats instead of working on POLICE violence. They do not point a finger at the POLICE and the need to change their mentality and need to be educated. Hence, nothing changes.

A similar culture exists in Canada Euro-feminists will look at violence in First Nation communities and in the Afro-Canadian instead of looking at POLICE VIOLENCE and cultural biases based on cultural assumptions and systemic Euro-male racism.  Yet, Euro-Feminist will not look at how the law has treated them and how those laws caused the deaths of thousands of women.

Idle No More and the Missing and Murdered women are First Nation initiatives that is pressuring the government of Canada for years. They have gotten recently some backing from Euro-Canadian women and the government opened an inquiry.  The women who are missing or murdered have no name, no faces they are unknown or unremembered y society.  We need to see a face to have a name, as these women have mothers, sisters, cousins and friends who care and want answers.  They may even have kids who wonder what happened to my mother.  The women of Valdor had their case dismissed not long ago for lack of proof, police harassment is real in Canada, it is part of profiling and based on prejudice: she is drunk, she was stoned, she wanted me I am entitled the police says same as the priest who raped women. 

A Euro-male Law made it legal to hunt down “witches” and to kill them, remember Salem witch trial and the Inquisition to rob women of their land and money. The legal system and the police did not recognized rape as a crime.  How many women were raped and even killed by their boyfriends or husband and the police never reacted? 

Euro-males have used words to divide women a by religion, ethnicity and skin tone: Muslim woman is murdered it is an honor crime – an Afro-American woman gets killed it is a femicide --- a First Nation woman gets murdered it is a murder and yet when a Euro-American or Canadian woman gets killed by a jealous husband or boyfriend it is a homicide or family violence. Truth be told they were all murdered be it by one of their men and by the POLICE (Afro-American/Canadian First Nation women) not as many Euro-Canadians.  Euro-feminist are following in the footsteps of Euro-Males and as women we must show empathy and solidarity with all women who are murdered and stop pointing a finger at their men and start looking at our males who make the law and impose it hence justifying legally their violence. 

INTERSECTIONALITY By Celine Leduc

Intersectionality by Celine Leduc

METHODDOLOGY

Intersectionality a word first used by Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw that describes the plight of women of African descent who get killed by the police and whose names we do not know.  Dr. Crenshaw made me think that African descent women are not alone the same principle can be applied to any woman that is NOT of European descent OR mentality.  Euro-Canadians and Euro-Americans like their European counterpart do not use the principle of intersectionality correctly, and we DO NOT speak of women of African descent and other woman as strong leader, heroes and role models to counter stereotypes.   We also silence their voices and refuse to talk about the two or three sides of the same problem, history is often five sided. 

Radical pluralism (Dr. Amina Wadud) which challenges Muslims on the inclusion of women imams and the LGBT community. I use her methodology to include women from all ethnicity, religion and sexuality

“Ourstory” (Professor Bayyinah Bello) and my prism or focus which is “I and the Other”.  “I” is me and my relationship with myself, my family, my society and other.  

“I and the Other” my relationship with others starting from me and knowing who I am and my culture. 

Five-sided history: my version the other’s version my heroes their heroes and our new version that is inclusive and honest.

In this short article or overview, I will address racism and reverse racism, derogatory language we use, and look at my relationship with others.

Each community has suffered exclusion and has been maligned in a different manner yet in similar method is used and is based on a premise that is a conclusion and not a question which causes a faulty theory.

SILENCE AND EUROCENTRICITY

My culture which is Euro-Americans which includes Americans (US) Canadians as England, France played a major role in colonization and the romanization of the Americas by Christian Eurocentric male leaders who wanted t make the American continent male and male only leadership.  Males attitudes towards the other ethnic groups:   African, Arabs, Asians, First Nation descent women/men.  Religion or religious supremacy Christianity that negates Judaism and Islam hence excludes diversity in spirituality.  Language used to describe “the other”.  Perception of “the Other” his/her contribution negated through silence.    Non-inclusive history epic stories and the silencing of all descent by not recoding the voice of women and all other ethnic groups.  In other words if it is NOT written it does not exist. 

What is romanization of Europe and Euro-Americans it includes: religion (Christianity and conversion), language English or French most words are from the Latin, laws based on Roman laws that govern women and all others that are not males.  Those values and ideologies were imported in the New World and Africa.

The word “Intersectionality” and the movement “Black Lives Matter (BLM)” have something in common they were appropriated by Euro-Americans which includes Canadians scholars. Intersectionality in Euro-American ways focus solely on the intersectionality of White women as being central. In the BLM    which is an Afro-American reality that highlights Police Violence like Intersectionality   people of African descent have been criticized and accused of being racist or using reverse racism.  In the BLM movement, Euro-Americans say all life matters except that of Afro-Americans. This is “Old Husband Tales” or fake news or urban legends therefore, nothing changes except for terminology that is being appropriated and hijacked. 

Old Husband tales or how a minority became the moral compass of the world.  One expressions that is repeated mindlessly by the dominant society (men-women).  It starts with Visible minority and yet it is not honest as we only see White people which is the true visible minority as the European or Caucasian race is a minority in the world; by looking at it from this prism a new reality will emerge hopefully. 

Intersectionality is about a Black women’s place in society she is inferior to all in Eurocentric society.  White feminist see her as a victim of abuse they perceive her as being violated and violent.  She is of inferior intellect as she is often the family leader, the sole earner in a single-family home. She is living on government aid be it in the US or Canada, her wages are lesser than others and she has problems getting a good job even with a degree or two.  Hence her kids are considered uncivilized or even uncivil. Once again Old Husband Tales and FAKE news. Because, no one has taken in consideration racism and slavery. 

Euro-Americans take slavery as something that happened in the past no one looks at the effect on people now. They also never look at the consequences of war and their bragging.  Lower paying jobs, being exclude from some jobs even if qualified or eve overly qualified such as women who had two degrees (Master’s) to work as a filing clerk with n chances of getting a promotion.

Racism and reverse racism a sneaky way Eurocentric males us to avoid taking responsibility for racism by pointing an accusing fingers towards the other and avoiding to look at himself as males are the ones who classified people by ski tone making white the ultimate and superior race.   Also, pushing eugenics as it proves their superiority and allows them to conduct inhumane research: look at residential schools in Canada, Concentration camps in Nazi Germany, conducting medical experiments on people of African descent including infecting them with gonorrhea without asking or sterilizing African women or testing new drugs all done without their consent including testing African men or women jailed with HIV/AID. 

FOREIGN CREDENTIALS AND JOBS IN CANADA AND THE USA

Medical doctors with a medical degree from The France or England which is recognized internationally and that person worked at the UN to set up clinics all over the African continent.  She or He cannot work in Quebec because they do not have a degree from Canada or Quebec.  Because of immigration doctors who are knowledgeable about some tropical diseases are needed.   This puts the life of patients at risk of misdiagnosis: Sickle Celle anemia or malaria or other unknown illnesses.   Even if they do the classes required they might not be accepted in the Doctor’s association because they have no experience in Quebec. They end up sweeping floors in a hospital, working as caregiver or working in telemarketing to make ends meet. 

Accountants women and men who worked at the World Bank cannot find a job in accounting for the same reason. 

Architects, engineers cannot be recognized in the professional associations because, they do not recognize foreign degree. 

EURO-WOMEN FOLLOW IN MEN’S FOOTSTEPS

Few if any Euro-Feminist have looked at their attitude towards women of African descent or other women.  Few or no one has dared challenge Old Husband Tales.  It seems that woman of European descent fear men and on the other hand want to recreate the same world order but feminize it and that is a danger.  Feminizing the world order means that the leaders will be women however the principles the core values will remain as is, as they DO NOT rock the boat, in other words nothing will change. The rationale behind this unspoken reality is: it worked for men it will work for us, men have lead as patriarchs gave us patriarchy now welcome the matriarch era and matriarchy. The status quo remains and the same hierarchy remains intact as romanization of the world continues unchanged and unchallenged.  Some of the challenges is romanticizing the past as being glorious based on the false premise of winning a war. 

THE SOLUTION AND CONCLUSION

By using intersectionality as Dr. Crenshaw uses it, adding the idea of radical pluralism of Dr. Amina Wadud, add to this Professor Bayyinah Bello idea of Ourstory and using these teaching to my interest which is I and the other my relationship to the other based on knowing myself, my society my culture vis-à-vis women of various backgrounds. Our story has a beginning and mine starts with Cleopatra VII and two perceptions that are opposite the stories from the West or North makes her into a slut, a coward and loser plus she is whitewashed as she is White. The Egyptian perspective makes her a Black woman, that was a great business woman, who defended her land and who was courageous and she was killed or murdered twice: First physically by the goons of Augustus and the secondly   by his historians Plutarch and Cicero and their biased view became the blueprint for Euro-historians, the story of the military victorious.   

Ancient Romans used rhetoric instead of philosophy as they sold their lies for over two-thousand years.  Their objective was to make the world UNIVERSALLY ROMAN. One god man, one language Latin which became the language of god and history which is his epic story.  It was Julius men who burned the Library of Alexandria that included everyone and their lineage and history as identity mattered as did lineage, ethnicity religions and language which was the Greek way.  History is his story and the epic story of women who emulated Him it is NOT “ourstory” it is His story will now be feminized to become “Herstory” of glory or epic story and not “Ourstory”.  Greeks offered at least five version of facts so people could be properly informed. 

Remembering the Armenian Genocide and Coffee and good tidings

THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE by Celine Leduc April 25 2017

The Ottoman Empire

The big cover-up

The Turkish shame.

Turkey refuses to acknowledge

Turkey wants to Forget April 24, 1915

Turkey wants to forget

Turkey under pressure

Armenians victims remember  

Armenians petitioned

Armenians hurt --- cry --- mourn.

Finally, one country heard

Turkey heard the cries

Turkey felt the pain

Turkey acknowledges Ottoman crime

Armenians remember to heal

Armenians are no longer alone

Armenians mourn with friends

APRIL 24, 1915 the Armenian GENOCIDE  

COFFEE AND GOOD TIDINGS by Celine Leduc April 25, 2017

Reading the past mourning the dead.

Reading a better future  

In a coffee cup, all is revealed.

Jews drink Turkish coffee

The Ottoman Empire protected them.

The Arab world wanted to destroy them.

Armenians don’t drink Turkish coffee

They remember the Ottoman genocide

They drink Greek or Arabic Coffee.

Greeks don’t drink Turkish Coffee

They too remember the Ottoman genocide

They drink Greek coffee but not Arabic coffee.

Hospitality equals good manners and etiquette

Coffee and sweets are served to guests.

Women entertain and read coffee grains to delight.

Good tidings are part of hospitality

Armenians, Jews and Greeks enjoy baklava

Coffee and honey cakes ushers in a better future.  

IN MEMORIAM TOTEN TANZ dedicated to all those who died and those who survived

IN MEMORIAM TOTEN TANZ  

By Celine Leduc edited by Norman Simon  April 2017 

Annie and Anita were friends

German Jewish, the other Christian

They joked: We are Judeo-Christians

They shared a passion the arts.

One a dancer, the other a percussionist

Yes, they complemented each other.

Religion united them: they celebrated

Hanukah/Christmas - the light that guides

Passover/Easter - Freedom from slavery

Little did they know they would be slaves.

They would be hunted as killers and traitors.

Politics made them enemies

They disobeyed --- they were friends.

Politicians said:  The Jews killed Jesus

Politicians acted and KILLED Jews

Religious leaders: ministers and priests

Preached, "Hate Jews," they killed Jesus.

Rabbis believed they would be safe

They reminded everyone, "We are German.

Germans are good people. We are friends.

The madness will pass --- have faith."

A knock at the door, a broken door

Houses searched, people rounded up

A suitcase packed in a hurry.

In a truck, bringing them to a train.

People displaced sent to a CAMP.

Annie and Anita decided to leave.

Fake exit cards - forged documents

From Berlin to Amsterdam

To freedom we will drive and walk.

They wait till night to cross

Check the patrols, the border guards

Snow on the ground, it is cold!

The hearts of the guards are cold

Anita says, “Go, I will follow.”

Annie runs, crosses to safety.

Anita starts to cross

She is spotted by a border guard

One shot resonates Annie falls

Anita runs back They are caught

Thrown in a truck – destination DEATH

The music has died

The dance macabre starts

Anita dances a solo : Toten Tanz

The dance of death.