Beating the Odds in Puntland, Somalia

Ilkoasse dedicated his life to building peace in northern Somalia. He gave his all to building a world without revenge killings, injustice, corruption, poverty and ignorance. I learned of this former cameraman, financial whiz, and dedicated coalition builder through Somalian Marian Hassan, who is a participating with me in James O’Dea’s Peace Ambassador training program.

Marian and Ilkoasse worked together with the Puntland Development Research Center, a peace building organization in a north eastern region of Somalia called Puntland. On April 6th, he was assassinated – a revenge clan killing. In response to such a loss, I offered to help make a banner that would continue the brave spirit of Ilkoasse – a visual reminder that there is another way than an eye for an eye. Marian asked for the Puntland flag to be included (a blue strip with a white star, a white strip and a green stripe) which I translated into sky, air and ocean. She also wanted to include the symbol of their wisdom path – elders meeting under a tree. I painted Ilkoasse and the elders. When I sent the paintings to Marian, she pointed out that painted images of people are considered to be iconoclastic in her Muslim country, so fellow Peace Ambassador Delia Paraisa of N. Carolina combined the symbols digitally. She added doves and the earth. The Somalian words mean, “Without peace, there is no life.” Now we are looking for a way to get the 10 banners we printed to Nairobi so that the Puntland Development Research Center will have them transported to Somalia, as no mail is delivered to Somalia.

Beating the Odds Starts with the Inner Work

Kassidy Jordan, a 4th grader at Novato Charter School, made this self-portrait in my private art class. The colored pencil and chalk drawing shows her night self and day self, her contented self and her sorrowful self, her complexity and her dragons. At her young age, she grasps something that I didn’t get until I was in my late twenties: That we have simultaneous, conflicting feelings living in one body. One of her dragons holds a yin/yang, the other a feather and a stone. Her image is rooted in the earth, moon and sun, held by an interwoven design. When I have seen and honored my range of emotions as Kassidy has in her drawing, I become authentic and trustworthy. When I haven’t done my inner work, destructive, unconscious behaviors have ripped my family, my friends, my colleagues and my mates apart. This is the inner work that is the key to Beating the Odds.

Below is a self-portrait I made of my inner landscape when I was heart-broken. I called upon the inner light to combat despair and pain. The act of creating transformed the pain into a tangible mirror of my complexity and my connection to earth, sun and moon.

Aqeela Shirrells, who brokered a deal between the Crips and Bloods in L.A. and who also lost his 18 year-old son to violence, said that the most important thing we can do now is to share the stories of our woundedness with each other. That reminds me of the practice of Cheyenne warriors of painting their hopes, fears and dreams on their shields. They greeted others with their vulnerability. As Thomas Moore points outs, our soul dwells in our complexity, the interplay of fragility and strength. The inner work that will help us beat the odds focuses on listening to the quiet voice inside as well as the roaring dragons. This inner work puts us closer to our soul.

Creativity & Community Do It Again

Travis and I adding final touches to “We Must Care for the Earth”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dl108HKr-M

When asked what they were most proud of in making this mural, many of the students at the Grant Grover School of the College of Marin said that they were able to make something together with the whole school. It was their sense of community, intertwined with their creativity, that gave them the greatest satisfaction. I know that these elements – total inclusion, no matter what the limitations, and imagination, plus hard work – is how the devastating odds that we’re up against can be solved.

Maurice painting while Devrie films.

Elias and Travis take a break

Carlos painting with help from his loving teacher.

Julieann paints the rainbow.