On Tuesday, I attended an extremely moving and powerful event. The Dear Hillary Campaign, is a campaign designed and initiated by St. Michael's College students to end the violence in East Congo. Student Global Aids Campaign along with the Peace and Justice Club and with many other students/faculty involved inspired this amazing campaign. Rachel Stone, a junior was involved in the planning of the event.
1. First of all, What is the “Dear Hillary” Campaign for the Congo?
The Dear Hillary Campaign for the Congo is a demand for action. There is a law in place, Public Law 109-456, that is being ignored by government officials and we are asking Hillary to enforce it. The law has several parts but the underlying idea of it is that the United States will no longer contribute to or support the violence in the Congo that is caused by Ugandan and Rwandan forces. Through the Dear Hillary Campaign, 56 chapters across the US and in the Philippines, UK, England and Canada, joined the movement. Each chapter participated in the campaign by watching Lisa Jackson’s documentary, “The Greatest Silence,” which exposed the issue of sexual violence in the Congo, and signing a postcard to be sent to Hillary. The postcard combined a birthday greeting, because we are contacting Hillary on her birthday, with a demand for enforcement of Public Law 109-456. Secretary Hillary Clinton will be receiving a total of 17,000 postcards signed by individuals around the world, all in support of this demand for justice for the women in the Congo.
2. What was the purpose of last night’s flagship event? How did it go?
The flagship event was the second part of the campaign, besides the postcard signing, and meant to spread awareness of the crisis in the Congo. Last night, all of the chapters of the Dear Hillary Campaign around the world held a similar event. Each chapter received a copy of the DVD, The Greatest Silence, along with their postcards, and they showed the documentary to their chapter last night. The documentary has shocking footage from Lisa Jackson’s trip to the Congo and her interactions and interviews with raped women as well as the soldiers committing the brutal crimes.
The event went very well, starting with Hillary’s “birthday party,” we sang happy birthday to her, lead by the Aca Bellas, and then watched the documentary. At the conclusion of the documentary, the audience was encouraged to ask Lisa Jackson questions about the film and her experience, and it was clear through the discussion afterwards that people were moved and upset because of what they just saw, but also inspired to help. That is all we could hope for.
3. Why is the St. Michael’s Chapter so important to this campaign?
The St. Michael’s chapter is important because this is where the whole campaign started. Leah Zieglar and Kate Bailey, two seniors at SMC worked with Professor Laurie Gagne over the summer to start the campaign. Through connections, word of mouth, and a strong presence in the media, the St. Michael’s chapter extended the campaign across the country and the world, creating a total of 56 chapters.
4. What made you decide to become involved in the Dear Hillary Campaign?
I heard about this campaign through a friend who became a part of the committee when we returned to school in the fall. I have been a member of the Student Global AIDS Campaign since freshman year, so I’ve worked on issues regarding the crisis in the Congo in the past, and this was just another effort I wanted to be a part of. The worst part about the genocide in the Congo is that very few people around the world know it is even happening. It is such a horrifying crime against humanity, and I feel it is my job to do what I can as a fortunate, privileged human being, to speak up for those who can’t. This campaign required a simple task that can cause a serious impact; it was easy to commit to it.
5. What do you think is the biggest thing we can do as students to stop the violence in the Congo?
The easiest thing for students to do is to spread awareness on the issue and speak up for the women in the Congo who cannot. The most effective thing, though, would be to go right to the top, contact the people who have authority in our country and are contributing to the violence, and relentlessly demand change. We have power as US citizens living under a democratic rule to contact and communicate with our leaders with extreme global power, and we must embrace that opportunity for control and use it to demand justice.
The Dear Hillary Campaign for the Congo is a demand for action. There is a law in place, Public Law 109-456, that is being ignored by government officials and we are asking Hillary to enforce it. The law has several parts but the underlying idea of it is that the United States will no longer contribute to or support the violence in the Congo that is caused by Ugandan and Rwandan forces. Through the Dear Hillary Campaign, 56 chapters across the US and in the Philippines, UK, England and Canada, joined the movement. Each chapter participated in the campaign by watching Lisa Jackson’s documentary, “The Greatest Silence,” which exposed the issue of sexual violence in the Congo, and signing a postcard to be sent to Hillary. The postcard combined a birthday greeting, because we are contacting Hillary on her birthday, with a demand for enforcement of Public Law 109-456. Secretary Hillary Clinton will be receiving a total of 17,000 postcards signed by individuals around the world, all in support of this demand for justice for the women in the Congo.
2. What was the purpose of last night’s flagship event? How did it go?
The flagship event was the second part of the campaign, besides the postcard signing, and meant to spread awareness of the crisis in the Congo. Last night, all of the chapters of the Dear Hillary Campaign around the world held a similar event. Each chapter received a copy of the DVD, The Greatest Silence, along with their postcards, and they showed the documentary to their chapter last night. The documentary has shocking footage from Lisa Jackson’s trip to the Congo and her interactions and interviews with raped women as well as the soldiers committing the brutal crimes.
The event went very well, starting with Hillary’s “birthday party,” we sang happy birthday to her, lead by the Aca Bellas, and then watched the documentary. At the conclusion of the documentary, the audience was encouraged to ask Lisa Jackson questions about the film and her experience, and it was clear through the discussion afterwards that people were moved and upset because of what they just saw, but also inspired to help. That is all we could hope for.
3. Why is the St. Michael’s Chapter so important to this campaign?
The St. Michael’s chapter is important because this is where the whole campaign started. Leah Zieglar and Kate Bailey, two seniors at SMC worked with Professor Laurie Gagne over the summer to start the campaign. Through connections, word of mouth, and a strong presence in the media, the St. Michael’s chapter extended the campaign across the country and the world, creating a total of 56 chapters.
4. What made you decide to become involved in the Dear Hillary Campaign?
I heard about this campaign through a friend who became a part of the committee when we returned to school in the fall. I have been a member of the Student Global AIDS Campaign since freshman year, so I’ve worked on issues regarding the crisis in the Congo in the past, and this was just another effort I wanted to be a part of. The worst part about the genocide in the Congo is that very few people around the world know it is even happening. It is such a horrifying crime against humanity, and I feel it is my job to do what I can as a fortunate, privileged human being, to speak up for those who can’t. This campaign required a simple task that can cause a serious impact; it was easy to commit to it.
5. What do you think is the biggest thing we can do as students to stop the violence in the Congo?
The easiest thing for students to do is to spread awareness on the issue and speak up for the women in the Congo who cannot. The most effective thing, though, would be to go right to the top, contact the people who have authority in our country and are contributing to the violence, and relentlessly demand change. We have power as US citizens living under a democratic rule to contact and communicate with our leaders with extreme global power, and we must embrace that opportunity for control and use it to demand justice.
