Personally, there are certain things that are going on in different parts of the world that make me hopeless for change sometimes, while there is the yearning within me that change should occur. When people complain about vices, they do so because they want a positive reformation. In your anger and sometimes, confusion, find strength to ask yourself – “How can I respond?”
You must not be a politician or a popular entrepreneur to be able to influence change. Every human being possesses powers to amend poor systems for the better. Each person needs to discover his/her own powers. The contributors to the Facebook group Am I Next? (raises awareness on the numerous cases of Aboriginal women getting murdered and going missing in Canada, and calls on the federal government to act), must have come to a realization that power lies within them and that with collective action, a change may come. Protesters in Ferguson have shown so much confidence in what they are defending and in the change that they seek. They have risen to their powers. Non-profit organizations, advocates on social media, everyone reading to get themselves more informed about social justice issues, people that are trying to change their own attitudes in order to influence positive change in their society – all these people have risen to their powers.
Change does start with you. If we do the right things in our personal lives, we are consciously or unconsciously influencing others positively. Your actions toward positive change can never be in vain. The Am I Next movement has so far generated the support of many Aboriginal women. The page has 3,464 members, at the moment. It definitely started with one member. Whoever decided to create the group inspired people to use their power of expression. I can imagine that the Facebook group has given Aboriginal women who have been pondering the question “How can I respond?”, an answer and some faith that change may come – that Aboriginal women will one day, hopefully soon, no longer be susceptible to murder.
The news of protests in Ferguson spread like wildfire on social media. When I see pictures from the protests, I see people who are tired of being executed because of the colour of their skin, because a dirty history of racism in the United States has made them susceptible to violence. I see the protesters in Ferguson as people who have risen to their powers. They are people who understand that black people in America, like people from any other race, deserve to be treated fairly.
I was yearning to realize the power that I could use to help raise awareness on social justice issues and in the process, bring about positive change as much as I could. Creative writing was the power that I tapped into and based on the feedback that I have been getting, my objectives for this blog are coming into fruition. My friends, tap into your own powers. We can truly make the world a better place, if we start with ourselves.
Love & Peace,
Chiamaka.
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