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ESTADÍSTICAS:
Actualmente, África subsahariana sufre más conflictos armados que cualquier otra región.
Las mujeres son las principales víctimas de la guerra.
What is my identity?
Mira Veda
Estados UnidosGALERÍACONVERSACIÓN
 CENTRO DE MEDIOS
The first question that came to me when I read, “Culture and Conflict: Uniting Women Across Boundaries” was “What is my identity?”

I asked myself, what is my multi-racial ethnic identity in the midst of a society that is male dominated and does it really allow me to connect with other women regardless of cultural barriers? Do my prejudices confine me to a pattern of ignorance?

It didn’t take me long to think of specific situations that kept me in anger, impatience, hate, and confusion, situations that left me feeling scared and suppressed. I could list a million times when I felt distance, separation and exclusion as opposed to connection with others from different backgrounds. Was my inability to define my identity having a negative effect on my life? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that although I had felt distance and separation at some point or another, I had also felt a deep connection and unity with women despite their culture, race, status or background.

Although it is difficult to remain unbiased, non-judgmental and compassionate at all times, there are times when we can let go of everything and just give in to the moment. The higher emotional state of conscious and empathy can take us to an entirely new level of reality. I found the answer to all my questions when I had an intensely transformative conversation with Immaculee Ilibagiza, a holocaust survivor of the Rwandan genocide. Immaculee dissolved every preconceived image of contrived love and unification. Although our meeting was brief, the impact of the encounter has stayed with me. She gave me horrific accounts of how her family had been slaughtered with machetes, how she hid for 90 days in complete fear of her life with seven other women in a tiny bathroom, huddled, one over the other, careful not breathe too loud. I listened quietly as a flood of tears followed her words. Terrorized and victimized, Immaculee still carried herself with grace as she spoke of forgiveness for her would be murderers. I opened my arms and embraced her.

In that very moment, I destroyed the fear that had hidden in the corners of my mind. I muted the voices of disapproval that promoted tendencies to remain insular. I killed all the disruptive stereotypes of ‘black people’ that kept me from making important connections. Discrimination was a part of my collective culture and I no longer wanted any affiliation to it.

I felt the depth of her pain stirring in my stomach. When she said, “Thank you for understanding, you don’t know how much it means to me,” I felt a tremendous connection to her. I could no longer see boundaries; I could no longer see culture, color, race, religion or even gender. I met her somewhere above all that. In our meeting, I understood that Identity manifests in a multiplicity of forms. Essentially, identity is with ‘what’ or with ‘whom’ I identify with. So, as I stood with Immaculee, I was a beautiful woman who had survived the Rwandan genocides. A woman whose family had been slaughtered by those she once called her friends.
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