Thankfulness

Recently I watched two documentaries that reminded me how privileged I am.

The first was The Devil Came on Horseback, an on-the-ground perspective of the genocide in Darfur. Brian Steidle was a Marine who went to work in 2004 as a ceasefire monitor for the African Union. As a monitor, his job was to observe and write reports. He heard stories about the violence in Darfur but that region of Sudan wasn't part of the negotiated ceasefire. Regardless, he started monitoring and what he found was almost beyond belief. His photographs, interviews, and video help to illuminate and make real an extremely dire situation.

I agree that Steidle is too much a part of the film -- I would prefer more interviews with people who survived the violence -- but it's still worth watching. Check out Global Grassroots for more information about successful efforts to help those displaced to Chad.

Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary was the second film. It's about illegal immigration and follows two men as they perilously make their way north from Honduras due to poverty. The director said that he chose to make the film after conversing with a man who had illegally immigrated to Canada and said that the most difficult and dangerous part of his journey was getting through Mexico. The man called Mexico the 'Highway of Hell'. I had heard of the Mara Salvatrucha gangs but learned more about how they originated. Luck be to any immigrant who crosses their path. A fascinating and heartbreaking film.

I learned this week that U.S. hospitals have the authority to deport people: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/us/03deport.htm

And that the Army published a field surgery manual:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/health/05surg.html

And that I am still deathly afraid of spiders. Case in point: last night I spent 45 minutes trying to work up the courage to kill a cocooned, obviously pregnant lady spider up in a corner of my room. A 1.5 hp shopvac didn't work! [Note to self: spiderwebs really are as strong as you heard they were.] Tentative poking with a BBQ skewer didn't work! Staring intently and wishing it away didn't work! Solution: fearless roommate.

God help me if I end up in a land of creepy crawlies.