Tag Archives: Human Rights

Families

Posted on by
robin feeding 3 babies in nest, whose beaks are pointing up
Parent feeding the babies on May 18

The robins raise their young so quickly, just a few weeks and they are already fledging from the nest. But they treasure their little family, and take utmost care to give the babies everything they need. We feel privileged to watch from our windows. So I will take my theme from this little family, to speak about the human rights of families.

In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16 says:

(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality, or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Now, in these few sentences, we can also see the foundations of the right to marriage for same-sex couples and transgender persons, because this article affirms “free and full consent”–that we choose our intended spouses, rather than being assigned a spouse by parents or society. At the time it was written in 1948, sexual orientation wasn’t fully understood or protected. But I was happy to be a part of the changes made in the last decades that extended this right to all couples.

And today, I am especially thinking about Mahmoud Khalil, being held in ICE detention in Louisiana, since March 8th. A legal green-card resident of New York, he was detained for previously speaking up about the human rights of people in Gaza. He was not permitted to be with his wife for the birth of their child, and today immigration officials have denied a request for him to hold his newborn son during a visit from his wife. This cruelty robs him and his baby of a bonding that is so humanly necessary. He should be free, and able to go home to his family.

I’ll close with a few photos from the baby robins.

2 newly hatched robins and one blue egg with crack in it.
Newly hatched robins on May 7th
Three robins peeking out of nest today.
Parent encouraging one baby robin, the last fledgling.
Parent encouraging the last fledgling.

Even the Humblest of Beings

Posted on by
trout lilies in old leaves, with mottled green leaves, and yellow and brown blooms

The trout lilies bloomed last week before several days of rain. This photo was from May 5th. Today the blooms are already fading or gone. The trout lilies live near a path by the Capisic Brook that I visit most mornings, though I don’t always make it as far as that path. I was glad to walk a little further to see these lovely small beauties.

I want to continue to post from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which I started a couple weeks ago. It is such a good reminder that every person, no matter how humble, or seemingly insignificant, is worthy of dignity. (In this quote of the declaration from 1948, for simplicity, I am using the original language, in which the pronouns he/his/him were understood to refer to all people).

Article 12: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home, or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13: (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14: (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from nonpolitical crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15: (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Can you read them again? So important in the light of what is happening to migrants today in our country. Everyone has the right to seek asylum. Every one has the right to a country, or to leave a country. Everyone has the right of return. And yet so many are denied that right. We have to keep speaking up for what we know is right, even if our societies have never fully lived up to these values.

Where is Mosab Abu Toha?

Posted on by
Mosab Abu Toha
Photo By Ishmaeldaro – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=155046681

Update: It turned out to be Facebook that suspended his account for a few days. In other news, Mosab Abu Toha just won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, for a series of essays in the New Yorker. Original post follows:

Mosab Abu Toha is a Palestinian poet and writer living in the United States with his wife and three children. I have been following him on Facebook because every day he posts so eloquently about what is happening in Gaza, he shares the details of people killed and the horrors of the genocide there. Today, I discovered that his Facebook page did not exist any more, and all the posts I had shared before had that little FB memo: “This content isn’t available right now.” The latest such post was April 27th.

I can’t help but wonder and fear what has happened. Has he been Facebook banned? Has he gone into hiding? Has he been arrested? He was so bold about speaking up for his people and appealing to the larger world to stop the genocide. This post from me is a prayer for his safety, and a prayer for all that he was trying to accomplish.

I have been posting articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today I will highlight Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

I want to close with a poem by Mosab Abu Toha published a year ago in AGNI journal. Abu Toha has two books of poetry available: Things You May Find Hidden In My Ear: Poems from Gaza (2022 City Lights Publishers) and Forest of Noise (2024 Knopf).

This Is Me!

A city whose streets escaped it,
a house without windows,
a rain with no clouds,
a swimmer in the desert,
a shirt with ripped-off buttons,
a book with loose pages,
a lightless moon and colorless grass,
a toothless smile and suffocated laugh,
a dark painting on black canvas.
I’m a table with no legs,
a noisy restaurant with no guests.
I write with a pen that has no ink.
I write my name in the air
and shout it, but no voice comes out.
I look around and see many things,
but I see no one.

First Harvest & Human Rights

Posted on by
chives, in orange colander, scissors on cutting board, cut up chives and plastic labeled bag for cut chives

Today I harvested chives! The first harvest of the 2025 season. I cut them up in small pieces with a scissors and then freezed to use anytime. Today I also want to speak up for human rights! Continuing from the first seven articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in my last post, I want to write out the next articles here. Over 75 years in existence, I weep that so many of these rights are not upheld in our world today.

Article 8: Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law. [Note: I am using the original language, the pronouns of which, at that time, while “masculine”, were understood to refer to every person.]

Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile.

Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11: (1) Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense. (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

I can’t help but think of the 238 Venezuelan men detained and transported to the prison in El Salvador, with no trials, no hearings, and definitely not presumed innocent until proven guilty. I don’t usually do lengthy blog posts, but today I want to say their names. They are human beings with human rights.

The names of Venezuelans deported to El Salvador per CBS News. [Plus there is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran living in the U.S. for 14 years, who was sent “by error.”]

Agelviz Sanguino, Widmer Josneyder

Aguilar Rodriguez, Nolberto Rafael

Aguilera Aguero, Gustavo Adolfo

Albornoz-Quintero, Henrry

Alvarado Borges, Neri

Angulo-Aparicio, Jinder

Aray-Cardona, Jose

Arregoces Rincon, Jose

Azuaje Perez, Nixon Jose

Barreto Villegas, Rolando

Bastidas Venegas, Jose

Basulto-Salinas, Marcos

Batista-Arias, Elvis

Belloso Fuenmayor, Alirio

Benavides Rivas, Yornel Santiago

Blanco-Bonilla, Andry

Blanco-Marin, Angel

Bolivar Cruz, Angel

Bracho Gomez, Victor

Brazon-Lezama, Javiar

Briceno-Gonzalez, Jose

Briceno-Gonzalez, Jean

Bustamante-Dominguez, Robert

Cabrera-Rico, David

Canizalez Arteaga, Carlos

Caraballo Tiapa, Franco

Cardenas-Silva, Johan

Carmona Bastista, Yorbi

Carmona Hernandez, Jose

Cedeno Contreras, Bruce Embelgert

Cedeno-Gil, Andrys

Chacin Gomez, Jhon

Chirinos Romero, Wild

Chivico Medina, Carlos

Colina Arguelles, Rosme

Colina Caseres, Miguel

Colina-Suarez, Alejandro

Colmenares Solorzano, Leonardo Jose

Colmenarez Abreu, Aldo

Contreras-Gonzalez, Yordano

Cornejo Pulgar, Frizgeralth De Jesus

Corrales-Moreno, Emilio

Davila Fernanadez, Luis

Delgado Pina, Aldrin

Depablos Requena, Jheison

Diaz-Lugo, Kleiver

Duarte Rodriguez, Richard

Duran Perez, Joseph Gregory

Echavez-Paz, Leonel

Elista-Jimenez, Robert

Escalona Carrizo, Yender

Escalona Sevilla, Angelo

Escobar Blanco, Pedro

Escobar Falcon, Yolfran

Fernandez Sanchez, Julio Rafael

Fernandez, Yohan

Fernandez-Subero, Mikael

Flores Jimenez, Wilken Rafael

Flores Rodriguez, Jose

Flores-Lopez, Jose

Fonseca Daboin, Cristhofer

Fuenmayor-Crespo, Roneil

Garcia Casique, Francisco

Garcia Prado, Leonardo

Giron Maurera, Richard

Gonzalez Troconis, Julio

Gonzalez Frailan, Jose Leon

Gonzalez Fuenmayor, Angel Jesus

Gonzalez Pineda, Oscar

Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Charlie

Graterol-Farias, Winder

Gualdron Gualdron, Luis

Gualtero Quiroz, Deibin

Guerrero Padron, Keivy

Guevara Munoz, Wilvenson

Guiterrez-Sierra, Wilker

Gutierrez Flores, Merwil

Hernandez Carache, Yeison

Hernandez Carache, Darwin Gerardo

Hernandez Herrera, Edwuar Jose

Hernandez-Hernandez, Jhonnael

Hernandez Gonzalez, Manuel

Hernandez Hernandez, Angel

Hernandez Juarez, Yorby

Hernandez Romero, Andry

Hueck Escobar, Jesus

Hung Mendoza, Jordan

Hurtado Quevedo, Eddie Adolfo

Indriago-Alvarez, Donovan

Izaguirre-Granado, Randy

Jaimes-Rincon, Yeison

Jerez-Hernandez, Yohendry

Justo Garcia, Jose

Laya-Freites, Jefferson

Leal-Bautista, Keiber

Leal-Estrada, Kervin

Lemus Cagua, Diego

Lizcano-Basto, Josue

Lopez Bolivar, Jose

Lopez Lizano, Maikol

Lopez-Rodriguez, Geomar

Lozada Sanchez, Wuilliam

Lozano-Camargo, Daniel

Lugo Zavala, Johendry

Lugo-Acosta, Yermain

Machado Martinez, Onaiker

Machado-Rodriguez, Jose

Manrique, Edson

Manzo Lovera, Lainerke

Marcano Silva, Luis

Marea-Medina, Ronald

Marin Zambrano, Jhonervi Josue

Marquez Pena, Jose

Marrufo Hernandez, Uriel David

Martinez Vargas, Kerbin

Martinez Vegas, Rafael

Martinez-Borrego, Tito

Martinez-Gonzalez, Yohangel

Mata Fornerino, Wilfredo Jose

Mata-Ribeiro, Yoswaldo

Mathie Zavala, Hotsman Ricardo

Medina-Martinez, Alexis

Melendez Rojas, Edwin

Mendez Boyer, Alex

Mendez Mejias, Angel

Mendez-Gomez, Luis

Mendoz Nunez, Carlos

Mendoza Ortiz, Maikol Solier

Mendoza Pina, Jean Claude

Mendoza Ramirez, Jonathan

Mogollon Herrera, Henry

Molina-Acevedo, Roger

Montero Espinoza, Ervinson

Montilla-Rivas, Jose

Mora-Balzan, Jose

Morales-Rolon, Andres

Moreno-Camacho, Cristopher

Moreno-Ramirez, Maikel

Morillo-Pina, Luis

Moron Cabrera, Yuber

Munoz Pinto, Luis

Navas Vizcaya, Ali

Navas-Diaz, Obed

Nieto Contreras, Kevin

Nunez-Falcon, Luis

Olivera Rojas, Maikel

Orta-Campos, Junior

Ortega Garcia, Felix

Otero Valestrines, Luis

Palacios-Rebolledo, Leoner

Palencia-Benavides, Brayan

Parra Urbina, Eduard

Paz-Gonzalez, Daniel

Pena Mendez, Jose Antonio

Penaloza Chirinos, Ysqueibel Yonaiquer

Perez Perez, Cristian

Perez-Llovera, Juan

Perfecto La Rosa, Moises

Perozo-Colina, Carlos

Perozo-Palencia, Andy

Petit Findlay, Andersson Steven

Petterson Torres, Christean

Pineda Lezama, Jesus

Pinto Velasquez, Cristhian

Plaza-Carmona, Jonathan

Primoschitz Gonzalez, Albert

Querales Martinez, Anderson Jose

Quintero Chacon, Edicson

Ramirez Ramirez, Jonathan Miguel

Ramos Bastidas, Jose

Ramos Ramos, Juan Jose

Reyes Barrios, Jerce Egbunik

Reyes Mota, Frengel

Reyes Ollarvides, Ronald

Reyes-Villegas, Arlinzon

Rincon Bohorquez, Omar

Rincon-Rincon, Ringo

Rios Andrade, Jesus

Rivera Gonzalez, Luis

Rivero-Coroy, Jean

Rodriguez, Edwin

Rodriguez Goyo, Alejandro

Rodriguez Lugo, Luis Gustavo

Rodriguez Parra, Alber

Rodriguez Rojas, Kenlyn

Rodriguez-Da Silva, Fernando

Rojas, Deibys

Rojas-Mendoza, Miguel

Romero Chirinos, Ildemar Jesus

Romero Rivas, Erick

Roos Ortega, Jesus

Rosal-Gelvez, Hector

Rubio-Petrola, Jose

Saavedra-Caruci, Robinson

Salazar-Cuervo, Pedro Luis

Sanchez Bigott, Yorbis

Sanchez Paredes, Idenis

Sanchez-Arteaga, Fernando

Sanchez-Bermudez, Marco

Santiago Ascanio, Ronald

Sarabia Gonzalez, Anyelo

Semeco Revilla, Darwin Xavier

Sierra Cano, Anyelo

Silva Casares, Jason Alfredo

Silva Freites, Carlos Julio

Silva-Ramirez, Aaron

Soto Manzana, Omar

Suarez-Fuentes, Joen

Suarez-Nunez, Luis

Suarez-Salas, Nery

Suarez-Trejo, Arturo

Tapia Colina, Jesus

Teran Aguilar, Carlos

Testa Leon, Orlando Jesus

Toro Noguera, Yonel

Torrealba Torrealba, Yonathan

Torres Archila, Amber

Torres Herrera, Euder Jose

Torres-Polanco, Carlos

Tortosa Guedez, Jorge

Tovar-Marcano, Cesar

Travieso Gonzalez, Kleiver

Troconis Gonzalez, Yhon Deivis

Uzcategui Vielma, Carlos

Vaamondes Barrios, Miguel

Vargas Lugo, Henry

Vazquez Morillo, Nicola

Vega Sandia, Wilmer

Vera Villamizar, Wladimir

Villa-Montano, Enson

Villafranca Rincones, Carlos Eduardo

Villegas-Frites, Ilels

Yamarte-Fernandez, Mervin

Yanez-Arangure, Luis

Zabaleta-Morillo, Keiber

Zambrano Perez, Julio

Zambrano Torrealba, Gabriel

Zarraga Rosales, Jorge

Declaration of Human Rights 1948

Posted on by
Bluebird perched on top of turquoise colored umbrella

As I was cleaning out files in the basement, I came across a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted December 10, 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly. It feels timely to post sections of this declaration here. There are 30 articles in the Declaration, along with its preamble. (I’ll post more in future days.) We’ve got to speak up for what we believe! Our current government is betraying these ideals in multiple ways, particularly by denying due process to immigrants arrested and imprisoned, or renditioned to foreign prisons. Resist!

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national of social origin, property, birth, or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional, or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing, or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.

Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Your silence will not protect you

Posted on by
Multiple bluish white flowers with green leaves in a bunch on the grass.

I am living in the strangest of paradoxes. A hateful dictator has taken over our country, but today my life looks about the same as yesterday. I wake up in the morning, the sun is shining through my windows, and the birds are singing. I see these bright spring flowers on my walk. And yet, US-made bombs are being targeted on children in Gaza, they are dying in flames or slowly starving because food aid has been locked out by the Israeli government. International students (here in the U.S. on legitimate visas) are being kidnapped and jailed by ICE and threatened with deportation for having spoken up against this genocide in Gaza.

And I can’t stop thinking about Kilmar Abrego Garcia being detained by “administrative error” and sent to the one country his immigration status said he could not be sent to (El Salvador), because of danger from gangs; and now he is trapped in a hellish prison there because the president will not bring him back. This regime is renditioning hundreds of people without trial to this “prison” in El Salvador–and really, without trial it is not a “prison” but an extra-judicial concentration camp. All the people the president sent there should be brought back to the U.S. If some of them are gangsters and criminals, they should face trials–everyone has human rights, or no one does. But the president jokes instead about sending “homegrowns” to El Salvador next.

So since I’ve spoken up publicly about genocide in Gaza, and about immigrants being deprived of human rights, does that mean that they will come for me one day? Maybe it does. But I can’t live my deepest ethics without bridging the gap between the bright sunshine of today’s ordinary morning and the nightmare that is going on all around us, just at a little distance from my house at the moment. Every day I read about more atrocities taking place, and I try to do the little that I can do: to bear witness, to speak up about them, to share my outrage, to protest the injustice. The temptation is to get quiet, to try to hide under the radar. But I do believe, as lesbian poet warrior Audre Lorde said, “Your silence will not protect you.”

The more of us who resist, the more chance we have to reverse this nightmare.

Guidance

Posted on by
Turkey mother and two babies behind plants in the yard

How does the Spirit move? How does the Spirit guide us? Is it like the wind blowing this morning, shifting the trees every which way? Might it come disguised as a turkey mother, with two babies always following nearby, meandering through the yard? Might it be in the doors that close, as well as the doors that open? Might it be in a conversation with a friend, sparking new ideas?

These last few weeks have been hard in our nation. Human rights have been undermined by the supreme court, and the attempted overthrow of democracy has been detailed in congressional hearings; gun violence continues, and police violence against black men does not abate. Heat waves remind us of the continued crisis of our planet, and despite many people acting as if the pandemic is over, the latest variant is more contagious and more severe.

I have felt at a loss for words about the big issues of the nation. I turned 69 last month, and after working for justice all of my adult life, I feel discouraged about the horrible backlash which seems to have taken power. Not surprised really. With the long history of this nation rooted in genocide, enslavement, and violence, it is amazing that we have made any progress at all. But for much of my life, it felt as if things were moving in a better direction. Now it feels like the same issues have to be fought all over again. I feel discouraged personally because I no longer have the physical energy to go to protests or marches, to be out there in the streets making a big noise. And because of that, I feel cut off from the community of resistance, which gives one hope and resilience.

So I listen for the Spirit, try to find guidance for my own little life. I look for signs in the wind and in the creatures who visit. The little turkey babies stay close to their mother, even as they wander through the tall grasses and wildflowers. Am I like that baby turkey? When it gets tired or scared, it jumps right up on the back of its mother. Or am I like the turkey mother, and someone needs to jump up on my back? How important it is that we help each other, and recognize the help that comes our way.

Baby turkey on its mother’s back.

How does the Spirit guide us? At times I am at a loss about what I can do, what I should do. This next chapter of my life is new territory. I don’t always understand when one door closes, but can I trust that the Spirit is still guiding me? Can I keep hold of a “yes” in my heart to the next open door? Can I recognize the sound of the Spirit in all of its guises? I am listening.

Keeping Stories

Posted on by

Last week, while cleaning out my files in the office at church, I was remembering so many wonderful stories of the work of this congregation on behalf of social justice.  I found myself wondering, “Who will keep these stories after I am gone?”  After 13 years of ministry here, I have become too much the keeper of institutional memory.  It was hard to recycle or shred old meeting notes and flyers and public witness statements.

Today, though, I am remembering that many of these stories of justice-making found their way into our Annual Reports.  Funny thing, Annual Reports.  I bet for most people, they are glanced at during an annual meeting, and then filed away, or even tossed away.  But they can be a useful tool for keeping stories.  After I had been serving this congregation for about a year, I took a week just to read the annual reports from 1980 up to 2006.  It helped me to understand the journey that the people had traveled, the stories from before I arrived.

So today–probably my last day of cleaning in the office–I am taking some moments to look at old Annual Reports–and share a few tidbits of some of the great activism I have witnessed and participated in here.  In 2005-6, we were part of a “No on One” referendum to prevent a repeal attempt of the state’s new anti-discrimination legislation for GLBTQ people.  Our Social Action committee made 2500 bumper stickers-My Church Believes in Civil Rights for All, and distributed them around the state.  (Thank you, Jim!) Not to mention rallies and forums and so much more–the repeal attempt was defeated!

That year, we also participated in the Giving Winds Campaign, a capital campaign of the Maine Council of Churches for Four Directions Development Corporation, which provides small business and home-owner loans to people on Wabanaki reservations in Maine.  We visited two reservations, hosted Wabanaki representatives during worship, and held a forum on Indian Affairs.  We donated over $2000, and members made loans through the church totalling $12000 that were matched by the UUA and the Federal Government.  Some of that loan money is still being used by FDDC!

In 2006-7, some of our members were on the advisory board for a new Portland Freedom Trail, celebrating the Underground Railroad in Portland, and other sites of importance to African American history in our city.  Other members created a quilt to be used in the unveiling of the first pedestal, and over a dozen people participated as docents for the grand opening event. You can find a self-guided walking tour online.

From 2007-2009, we were involved with work on a campaign for the Freedom to Marry for same-sex couples. We were part of creating the interfaith Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine, (later it became the Religious Coalition Against Discrimination), and many people testified at a huge public hearing.  The bill was successfully passed by our legislature, a first in the country, but then immediately went to a people’s veto referendum.  Sadly, despite the active involvement of so many, the veto campaign prevailed and marriage rights were not achieved.

But people did not give up, and our church was part of the long attempt to pass the Freedom to Marry by referendum.  Our members were among the many volunteers going door-to-door having conversations with undecided voters, they were phone-bank callers, and they created another great bumper sticker.  Finally, victory was achieved on November 6, 2012.

I like to keep my blog posts to about 600 words, so I am running out of room to add more stories. And I haven’t even mentioned the campaign for Health Care for All, which percolated within our doors, and is now a statewide organization, Maine All Care.  I haven’t mentioned our three-year Environmental Focus, our participation in protesting oil from Tar Sands (see the photo below), work on climate change, and our Permaculture Design course.  And what about work on peace issues, homelessness, anti-racism, immigration, and the latest project, Greater Portland Family Promise?

It will be up to the members of Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church to keep their own stories now.  I hope they will peek into old Annual Reports if they need to remember the old stories, and I hope they will make many new stories as well.Tar Sands Rally