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Day 7: July 16, 2007

Gabriel’s Journal

A short Journal Entry (Day 7, sorry I missed Day 6)

Gabriel taking picturesI thought I was going to have extra time to write on my Journal and to answer comments today, since we went out to the camp very early and came back to home-base also earlier than usual. Somehow the day flew by, so I missed a day of journaling. The editing took me way too long, and I had a conference call that took some time. At 1am, I had to sleep a little. The night before was one with almost no sleep at all. It is 5am now, and light is starting to shine outside the hut. A new day is starting. I was so tired tonight that I did not feel any of the bugs. We did not turn on the light at all, so that they would not be attracted and could not plan their nightly attack. There are still lots of them in here, but not too bad. I hope some of the faces you are seeing are staying with you. It is not all horrible out here. The people are beautiful, and that is a big part of what we want to share with you. The world needs to see the beauty that will be lost if we do nothing. They are not numbers. They have faces. They have names.

FatmaAyasa

Fatma, Ayasa

 

ShamaAbdraman

Shama, Abdraman

Paz,
Gabriel

12 replies on “Gabriel’s Journal”

CONNIE WROTE YESTERDAY:

Gayle,
Gabe received your message. HE says that if YOU didn’t have him doing stuff he would get around to his journal. Amor y Paz,Connie.

NEWSFLASH GABRIEL:

……………actually I don’t have a witty come-back to that – you win this round – that was quite amusing :)

Gabriel,

THANK YOU for going back to Mansur …….. like so many others, I’ve thought of him constantly over the last 2 days. (and I can’t stop blubbering – he really got to me the first time but this ….. !!!)

The look on his precious face as he handed his drawings over for you to take home to Michael – he was SO proud and you could see how valued he felt. What a magnificent moment for him and for all of you.

And Michael – you are an amazing young man.

with love to you all,

Gayle xxx

PS: Connie – you did GREAT with the good-byes – strong and beautiful :)

Hola,
Si te extranamos, pero creo que el dia es corto para poder hacer todo lo que ustedes quisieran. Gracias por ensenar al mundo lo que esta pasando en Darfur.
Z.

PD. Gabo dice hola, y es tu admirador # 1.

Hello i-ACT Team! (and what a team!)

Thanks for going back to see Mansur. I can’t wait for Michael to see the video! He is still sleeping (it’s summer schedule).

I can’t even imagine how hard it was to say your “adios.” You have three more days of i-ACT, but there is much work to be done here at home to continue spreading the message. It’s so sad that we are all very hard of hearing. The journey continues, the work will get harder. We are not good listeners. We are really going to have to SCREAM…

first of all, assalamualaikum to dear and beautiful brothers and sisters from Daruf,
everyday when i watch the videos i cry. in my head there is a main thought: there is no words for me to explain why we as humans to this to each other? even in 21 century behavior is so inhumane. why do we do it? you are so beautiful and brave. your faces are just amazing. i feel sisterhood with you all. i wish i could adopt you and bring you to my home. can we? i was a refugee once too from Sarajevo – Bosnia and i know how it feels to live in no mans land. i know how it feels to be living out of a suitcase. i know it all. i will sent you all my positive outlook and my feeling of peace in to your hearts so we can build this strong network of love and peace. it is said you need to start from yourself and feel it in every cell of yourself and project it to the universe. lets feel the peace and love in our hearts 24/7 and feel the unity as caring and wonderful people as i-ACT team is! thank you Gabriel so much for being the change you want to see in the world. Gandhi would be very proud of you. Connie, you made me cry today with your journal.i will sent it to all my friends. i remember how i was living in Sarajevo – Bosnia doing the war and had no running water and till this day i feel grateful to have it and i still think of the people that do not. i have contacted local newspaper and UNICEF the other day. one person can make a difference as Gabriel is doing for years now. i would like to get the T-shirt with Mansur’s drawing, too. can we also make T-shirts with their beautiful faces?
do children have after school programs, such as sports, art, writing, english classes? even for adults. i know how it feels to sit and just wait for a day to go by, day after day.
thank you all for everything! good job to you all! love and care to all!
peace, paz, mir, sellam!
azra
ps.gabriel do u remember me from the bosnian tent event in Pasadena?

Hi Gaba!

Thank you for telling Mansur about my ideas. I was excited about him giving me more than one picture off the wall. Mansur and I are going to make a good team! It would be cool if I met him one day…at home in Darfur…

Well I hope you guys are doing well.

Michael

Hi Papi,
You are right.It isn’t all that bad over because theres all the beautiful people that will be lost if we don’t do something.
love
mimi

Hi All,
I have not been able to acess any of the videos, however I don’t know if I want to because reading what is posted is hard enough. I think if a video was added I would be unable to deal with it. That is what needs to be shown to the ones who are in denial or are ignoring the situation though. Here’s a thought, what about commercials? I’ve seen afew over the years for other situations such ad ONE (for example). Why not have a commercial showing some of the footage from your videos simply stating “They need everybody’s help”, or something to that affect…..
Peace,
MaryAnn

Hola Gabe,
Que excelente trabajo esta haciendo tu equipo, esperemos que con todos los videos y la informacion que ustedes nos estan mostrado salga una solucion para la gente de Darfur. Cuidate mucho y aqui seguiremos viendo los videos todos los dias.

Good morning,

We may miss your journal entries when you or your team members are too stretched with other activities to be able to write daily, but we certainly understand. It’s a phenomenal act to be able to handle all y’all do from the field – fueled not by sleep, but by compassion. I would love to be able to print photos of some of these beautiful, expressive faces on a shirt, each with a story/message they wish to relay. Could that be a possible way to extend your i-ACT efforts?

Paz,

Lisa

Hello to the i-ACT team. First and foremorst thank you for your efforts. The United States is so caught up in the War that the rest of the wolrd is often being left under represented. I am writing in response to Gabriels visite with the boy who drew those powerful drawings. You said you had a friend who wanted to make t-shirts? Is he is planning to produce a lot of these? I would love to get involved. I am a student at Western Washington University and I am passionate about spreading the message. If there is a way I can contact this creative t-shirt guy please let me know. Thank you for all your efforts.
“When the Power of Love Overcomes the Love of Power the World will Know Peace”
Sarah

My son, Andrez and I had a conversation over the phone about this segment of Mansur and his pictures. He was very much sadden by the pictues and could not believe what he had experienced. He reflected on his own life and expressed how fortunate he is here at home. He commented on the pictures hanging in his tent and it being a constant reminder of his terrible experiences. We were glad to learn that the return to Mansur’s tent was to take some of those pictures down and put it toward ACTION! Great idea Michael Veerman!

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