World Humanitarian Day – Some Thoughts…

Today is World Humanitarian Day (19 August 2010) – a day that celebrates and recognises the work of humanitarian workers everywhere. Humanitarian workers come in all nationalities, ethnicities, genders, ages, shapes, sizes and professions:

They are the on-the-ground aid workers and peacekeepers.

They are the advocacy and campaigning groups.

They are the medical professionals of every level.

They are the researchers, scientists, teachers and mentors.

They are the priests, monks, nuns working amongst the people in the field.

They are the volunteers, professionals and vocationals.

They are white-collar, blue-collar, no collar.

They work to broker peace, eradicate disease, purge hunger and end violence against women (sometimes, at the cost of their own lives).

This UN-sponsored YouTube Public Service Announcement shows all this beautifully (please take 5 minutes of your time today to just watch this video):

In a world where many human rights causes (including Violence Against Women) are still seen as a taboo…

In a world where many human rights causes (including Violence Against Women) are still seen as a non-issue…

In a world where many human rights causes (including Violence Against Women) are still seen as “not my problem”…

We would like to thank:

• All our volunteers for donating so much of your time and skills to stand together with us to try to end violence against women worldwide (even if it seems too vast, too futile or too deranged a goal).
• All our partners for all their many decades of hard work to end the cause and their open arms in welcoming The Pixel Project (while we are still in our infancy) to the cause.
• All our supporters, many of whom are survivors who lived to tell the tale and to advocate and campaign against violence against women so other women and girls would not face this in their future.
• All our male supporters who very bravely stepped up to say: “Enough is enough” to the violence against the women in their lives and around the world.
• All our fellow humanitarian workers worldwide who exhibit grace under pressure to face down atrocities, heal wounds of all kinds, rebuild lives and livelihoods and speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves even in the face of violence.

Thank you all for being who you are, for being there, for supporting us in our humanitarian cause to end violence against women.

We quote:

“If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.”

– William Wilberforce, Humanitarian and Abolitionist, 1759 – 1833

We wish all of you “Happy Humanitarian Day 2010” and as per William Wilberforce’s quote, let us continue to be “incurable fanatics… at large” together.

It’s time to end violence against women. Together.

– Regina Yau, Founder and President – The Pixel Project