do something

I read a book this week that shook me - The Last Girl by Nadia Murad. It is Nadia's story of being captured by ISIS in Iraq and used as a sex slave until she escaped. It is a horrifying story, and Nadia is fearfully honest. She was afraid and ashamed to share her story because of the vulnerability and trauma, but she shares it all over the world in the hopes that she will be part of ending sexualized violence. 



What shook me most however was her gut response to those who helped her when she escaped. She writes, "I don't want to sound ungrateful to the family who let me inside their home. They heard my story without judgment and they offered to help. Still, I couldn't help but wonder where they had been the whole time I was captive. Listening to their excuses made me angry, although I tried not to show it. How could Hussein watch those buses drive by, thinking that on board where young girls and women about to be raped night after night by Islamic State militants? How could Hisham have watched in the court as militants dragged their sabaya (sex slaves) into illegal marriages? They were helping me, but only after I show up at their door. And I was one of thousands. They said they hated ISIS, but none of them had done anything to stop them." 


I was shaken because in so many ways, she describes me. She describes so many of us. How many ways could we fill in the sentence: They said they hated ____, but but they hadn't done anything to stop it.

What are we doing? 

Believing something is unjust is not enough. Beliefs are not really beliefs unless they lead to action. 

No individual can do everything. But we can all do something. 

They said they hated ____, but but they hadn't done anything to stop it.

Racial discrimination?

Abortion? 

Human trafficking? 

Homophobia? 

Poverty? 

Sexism?

Unfair wages? 

Food waste? 

Animal cruelty? 

Hypocrisy? 

Hunger? 

Domestic violence? 


I went around the dorms on campus and asked those I met what they wanted to change in the world, and what steps they could take toward actually doing it. Will you ask yourself that question? 

And while you're considering it, consider supporting Nadia by reading her book and exploring the initiative she has started, which "advocates for victims of sexual violence and works to rebuild communities in crisis." She lost so much of her family, her home, and her dignity to ISIS, but she is still brave enough to share her story, and is donating 100% of her Nobel Peace Prize award money to rebuild her homeland. 

What are you called to do?



What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:14-17