DUS Writer Gets Applause
To Wayne Trujillo:
What a powerful, powerful experience your readers experience in this study (DUS May 2007 cover story – “America's Religious Awakening: Latinos And Immigrants”). It is so needed, especially in light of the textbook we are writing for journalism/law/religion/social work/etc. students.
We appreciate hearing from you when you are able - to follow up your reporting with a study with Pastor Vincent Omegba, an attorney from Nigeria who is opening a door for Dan Lynch to write his book Loss Of Our Religious Liberties: Rise Of Radical Religion.
As Jefferson said, "I would rather have a newspaper than a political party."
Chaplain Mary Murphy, The War Widows
Denver, CO

RFB&D Thanks DUS
Editor:
Thank you for your mention this past year of our nonprofit organization, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), a nonprofit organization whose volunteers record textbooks for students who are blind, visually impaired, dyslexic or physically struggling.
We are a small nonprofit, and your help in sharing the story to potential students and families who might need our service is a wonderful service to us, the families and our Colorado community. Thank you!
Betsy Boudreau, RFB&D Executive Director
Denver, CO

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Obuntu – A Slip Of The Cursor?
Editor:
In the June 2007 issue of your newspaper,  in her article "Obuntu: Looking through a Positive Lens", Ms. Brooks writes about the term as indicating "interconnectedness" and "harmonious consciousness" and its role in the uplift of and unity in, the African-American community.
While there is little to disagree about the need to have positive images about ourselves (Dr. Arthur Jones), Dr. Lucas Shamala suggests the need for indigenous "knowledge" systems  and that "divide and conquer" is/was a classic method, used by dominant groups "to keep the oppressed down". 
Few will quibble over the need to know indigenous knowledge systems and the need for coherent social and political action.  But there seems to be some confusion in terms of time-lines...Dr. Shamala seems to be talking as if we were still living in the heyday of colonial rule. 
His discourse fails to take into account i) local pre-colonial institutions and practices of social, cultural and political oppression, ii) the heavy impacts of colonial rule, globally dominant economic and social inequalities, iii) local despots and tyrants (most of them home-grown) and the resulting, war, violence and brutality and iv) the criminal incompetence, corruption and catastrophic failure of the public administrative services to deliver meaningful welfare to the majority of the people in post-colonial societies.
The late Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said recommended Gerard Chaliand's Revolution in the Third World: Myths and Prospects (Viking Press, 1977) as a sobering anti-dote to the problematic reductionism of a lot of what has come to be known as "post-colonial discourse".
As examples of the sorry tale of post-colonial societies, Dr. Shamala needs no reminding that a) Charles Taylor-the former President of Liberia now on trial at the Hague faces 11 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes - "These relate to terrorising the civilian population, murder, sexual violence (rape and sexual slavery), physical violence (cutting off limbs), using child soldiers (under the age of 15), enslavement (forced labour) and looting" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6707551.stm), b) the estimates for Darfur range from 200,000 to 500,000",  c) four million people have died since 1998 as a result of the fighting in Congo, the most lethal conflict since World War Two." according to Mahmood Mamdani in the London Review of Books, (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n05/mamd01_.html), to name just three present-day African conflicts ,  and d) the scores of wars and massacres in South-East and South Asia, suitably orchestrated by interested parties. Needless to say this is far from being an exhausting list of the humanitarian, economic, and ecological catastrophes that stalk large parts of  the post-colonial world.
Will there ever be a time when "post-colonial discourse" acknowledges local agency and responsibility, while at the same time not neglecting other interlocking structures of oppression and violence.
But what was really mystifying was when Ms. Brooks quotes Dr. Shamala as saying "We must go to the elders. Books are good too, but books written by black people."
It would be important to know whether this phrase was a misquote, a typo (a slip of the editor's cursor, perhaps) or whether this was an accurate representation of what Dr. Shamala actually said....Either way it is quite unsettling, coming if it does, from some one who is involved with the academy.
Cyrus Ptolemon, Research Archive
Littleton, CO

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Community Needs Domestic Abuse Education, Help
Editor:
New research is showing that episodes of violence are appearing in teen dating relationships. During a rap session on teen violence held in a church setting, almost half of the teens admitted they have been or are currently in, abusive relationships. In fact, 1 in 3 teenagers report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked or physically hurt by their partner. (Liz Claiborne Inc. study on teen dating abuse conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, February 2005.)
The teens stated that they were unaware of resources until these sessions began. They also stated that these types of sessions should be on-going in order for their parents and youth leaders to be informed. Statistics show that 75 percent of parents were unaware that their teen had been physically hurt or bruised by their partner and 58 percent of parents were unaware that their teen had been hit, slapped, pushed, punched, kicked or choked by their partner. (Liz Claiborne Inc. study on teen dating abuse conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, January 2007)
Domestic violence affects one in four women over a lifetime and in some cases, prior knowledge in recognizing warning signs could have prevented being involved in an abusive relationship.
In times of crisis, faith leaders and their communities are often the first to be contacted by an abused woman, child or concerned family member. Victims who have been abused may struggle to understand the abuse in light of their religious beliefs. As a faith leader, your powerful impact can make a tremendous difference.
Since 1977, SafeHouse Denver, Inc. has been providing shelter and support services to victims of domestic violence and their children and we are aware of the importance of the faith community as an integral part of the healing process.
To that end, SafeHouse Denver and AMEND (Abusive Men Exploring New Directions) are providing the opportunity to bring family and teen violence education to the faith community. Our goal is to educate pastors, ministers, and their congregations to become peer educators and for their places of worship to become safe havens.
In order to reach these goals, we will need to collaborate to raise greater awareness about the problem of domestic and teen violence and how to create safer, healthier relationships. I would like to set up a meeting with you and other faith community leaders to discuss this urgent matter.
Please let me know if you are interested and I will send you further information regarding teen dating violence and domestic violence to peruse at your convenience.
Rev. Bonita Chase Darby
Community Organizer
(303) 302-6123 - Direct
bchase@safehouse-denver.org

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