Unheard Voices

             All across the globe, there are hundreds of millions of people that live in a state of constant tragedy.  Whether suffering from epidemics, famine, political turmoil or domestic abuse and discrimination, these individuals carry out their daily lives without any hope that someday, someone might put an end to their suffering, or that a shred of possibility exists that they could successfully help themselves.  They are truly the voiceless faces of the world.  So, for those of us fortunate enough to sit at a computer, view a blog and contemplate the wreckage of the international stage, we ask ourselves what is being done to remedy the situation.  While the vast majority of us well- wishers are fairly limited to charitable donations, memberships within outreach organizations and writing vigorously to our political representitives, many others have dedicated their life's work to giving the voiceless a chance to be heard.  There are also a number of celebrity figures who have lent their names and talents to helping the less fortunate begin to thrive.   Looking at how massive and far reaching these global problems can be is overwhelming, and trying to help often feels fruitless, but even if only a few are ever given a voice to use, then the effort was a triumph.

            As mentioned before, most individuals are limited in their capabilities to really role up their sleeves and go save the world one starving orphan at a time.  As much as are hearts go out to the images staring back at us from our televisions, computers and magazines, we have our own way to make. And while we do what we can, others have decided to forgo the comforts of western life in order to aid the voiceless of the subaltern.  A great example of this is the efforts of Ann Jones.  After a short clip of A Global Crescendo: Women's Voices, viewers are shown exactly how people are able to give others the tools they need to take their lives back into their own hands.  In the clip, Jones discusses how she gave cameras and very little instruction to a group of women in a village in the Ivory Coast. They photographed images of their daily lives and, as a result, ended up gaining a voice within a society that would have never listened to them otherwise.  This clip holds a strong resemblance to Zana Briski's documentary, Born into Brothels, in which young children of prostitutes are given camera's and instructed to capture their lives in photo's.  This experiment in humanitarianism resulted in the exposure of one individual's artistic genius.  These examples are a testimony to what can be accomplished, but they also demonstrate that help from those more privilaged is a crucial neccessity to the process. 

         For those that are blessed to catch the eye of celebraties with a charitable disposition, the sky is often the limit. Take Miriam Makeba, an African singer and song writer, for example.  No, she is certainly not a mainstream entertainer who's music can be found in the majority of American I-pod's, but she is a fairly well known and respected musician throughout the western world.  While I refuse to imply her music is not worthy of American audiences, I would suggest the possibility that her popularity in Western nations is, in part, due to her endorsement from Paul Simon.  Brenda Fassie, another musician from Africa, is not known by many in the West at all.  This could very well be a result of her songs not being performed in Western languages, the content of her music is typically not viewed as entertainment oriented(spousal abuse, etc.), or that the rhythm of the music is not familiar, but I would venture to guess that if Brenda Fassie was to go on stage with                 (fill in the blank yourself), she might get more radio time in the U.S. and elsewhere.  Brenda Fassie's message is a very important one and worthy of being heard. Unfortunately, Americans are often times quite hesitant of going outside the bounderies of North America or Great Britain for sources of Entertainment.  My advice to Ms. Fassie would be to get a Western catalyst.

         The point of all this is to address the fact that there are alot of people in this world that don't have a say in the path their life will lead and there is alot we can do to help appease the problem.  We, as fortunate citizens of the West, have an obligation to do what we can, whatever that may be.  Many have made it a personal mission to travel far and wide, giving a hand where a hand is needed. Entertainment royals have offered their silver spoons and helped make intenational stars of, otherwise, unheard voices.  This should not invoke a sense of guilt or bitterness within the everyday individual in regards to what they are able to offer, but it should ignite a desire to want to provide something to those who cannot provide it for themselves.