A Thousand Sisters

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039A Thousand Sisters by Lisa Shannon

In the heart of remote forests in the Congo, those responsible for the Rwandan atrocities have taken shelter. In 1994 they fled Rwanda and hid in refugee camps. Known in the Congo as “those who kill together,” they continue to work every kind of violence on the men and women of the Congo. As author Lisa Shannon notes, “the Congo is the worst place on earth to be a woman.” In the ongoing African battles raging in the lands of the Congo, over five million people have died.

Lisa Shannon learned about the horrific conflict in the Congo from Oprah Winfrey. Oprah covered a story on the nonprofit organization Women For Women International, a group that connects sponsors with Congolese women in need of aid. Lisa decided to take a stand. The path she chose was to run thirty miles to raise funds for Congolese women. With that one determined act, the Run For Congo Women took form. Her first race raised almost thirty thousand dollars.

It wasn’t nearly enough for Lisa. She headed to the Congo.

In villages and tribal compounds, Swahili voices surrounded Lisa, conveying stories of broken lives. Boys as young as nine told her about life as a child soldier, impressed into Hutu and Tutsi militias. They had to join the militias or die. They slept in the mountains without blankets and with nothing to eat, attacking defenseless girls and women under the orders of the chief. Those who failed to carry out the ruthless orders were shot immediately.

Congo has a wealth of diamonds and gold, and large amounts of tantalum, a metal widely used in electronic devices. Congolese mines are heavily controlled by the militias, who employ locals to mine and carry ore through the forest to cargo planes bearing the wealth away from the Congo. Profits may reach as high as US $80 million a year. Such high stakes fuel inhuman violence and corruption.

In Congolese villages, Lisa met with the Congolese “sisters” sponsored by Women for Women. These women had watched their houses burn to the ground, experienced mass killings, and still held on to the little hands of sons and daughters conceived in violence. As she hears the stories, Lisa recognizes the beauty in each soul. In her presence, the Congolese glimpse the American “sisters” they will never meet in person. Through their sisters’ efforts, the women of the Congo are rising beyond the fury and the hatred. They are receiving medical care. They are buying chickens. Their children remain alive. Furaha sana. So much joy.

At the time Lisa completed A Thousand Sisters, she has been involved in sponsoring one thousand Congolese women, who are raising more than five thousand children.

To find out more, visit Lisa’s website: lisajshannon.com.

–Kate Calina

The Boy on the Wooden Box

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085The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson

Rumors rolled through the streets of Krakow. Germans soldiers were closing in. Polish Jews glanced at each other in mounting fear. What would happen to them if the town surrendered to the Nazis?

Young Leon Leyson spent his childhood in the rural village of Narewka, Poland. His father, Moshe, was often away, honing his skills at a glass factory in Krakow. The watchful father soon brought his family there, working hard to provide. As war loomed over Poland in 1939, hopes for a safe haven rapidly dissolved. When the Nazis took control of Krakow, all Jews were fired from the glass factory. Moshe remained. He spoke German.

His family was assured a precarious safety, until one night when the Gestapo pounded on the door. The German secret police beat Moshe, choked him, and dragged him out into the night. For months, no one knew where Moshe had been taken. The day Moshe was released from St. Michael’s prison, his children knew a vital part of him was gone. Moshe returned to his job with his confidence deeply shaken, aware that the only way to feed his family was to remain in the employ of the Nazis.

The Nazis took over all Jewish businesses in the city. All Polish Jews were rounded up and forced to the ghettos. Elderly Jews were transported to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. As the war progressed, Leon and his family were sent to a labor camp, where they spent their days hauling lumber and rocks to build Nazi barracks.

In the midst of this hellish world, one Nazi businessman saw opportunity. His factory produced pots and pans for the Nazi army—and munitions for the war effort. Impressed by Moshe’s determination and skills, Oskar Schindler offered the Polish Jew a job. Schindler built a camp by the factory, freeing his Jewish workers from the horrors of life in the labor camp. Surrounded by Nazis bent on torture and extermination, Schindler reached out with acts of kindness. He hired Moshe’s sons. He threw late night parties and paid heavy bribes to stop Nazi commanders from taking his Jewish workers to the gas chambers. Schindler was responsible for saving the lives of over a thousand Jews.

“Oskar Schindler thought my life had value,” Leon writes. “Only by standing on a wooden box could I reach the controls of the machine I was assigned to operate. That box gave me a chance to look useful, to stay alive.”

The Boy on the Wooden Box is a moving tribute to a man with incredible courage and resourcefulness. Powerfully written, with clarity and sensitivity, it is an excellent book for anyone who wants to understand life in Poland under the Nazi regime.

–Kate Calina

The Monuments Men

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The Monuments Men

Robert M Edsel with Bret Witter

In the midst of all the horrors of World War II, the Allied Forces waged crucial battles in the heart of the great cultural and historical sites of Europe. Adolph Hitler had set his mind on creating the Fuhrermuseum, which was to be the most magnificent art museum in the world. As the German forces fought their way through the nations of Europe, they confiscated over five million cultural objects and ravaged innumerable historical and religious structures. In the wake of such destruction, a group of colorful characters took on the charge to mitigate the damage being unleashed on the churches, museums, and other monuments in the path of the Third Reich. These intrepid and resourceful men became known as the Monuments Men.

Without radios or even a clear chain-of-command, the Monuments Men arrived at the front lines to do what they could to protect the cultural works of history. When signs proclaiming these buildings as “Off Limits” failed to accomplish their desired effect, new ones were placed, warning all comers of the dangers of mines. Without ready transportation to critical areas, one quick-witted Monuments Man enlisted a German Volkswagen without windshields or even a top. He entrusted his life to a car with weak brakes and a battered transmission. Whether by car or in convoys, these men found their way to the hidden German stashes of the great works of civilization.

The book is rich with details of such notable moments as the rescue of Chartres Cathedral from explosive mines, and the safe relocation of the famous Bayeux Tapestry. The greatness of soul of these Monuments Men shines through the chapters of this fascinating book. If you want to see moving pictures and find out more about these remarkable human beings, visit Robert at: http://www.monumentsmen.com/m/blog.

–Kate Calina

The Terra Cotta Warriors

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The Terra Cotta Warriors

Over two thousand years ago, the First Emperor of China ascended the throne. His visions for the newly united empire appear almost limitless. Ongoing assaults from the northern tribes prompted Qin Shi Huang to unite fragmented walls into a single fortification for his border lands. The world would ultimately know this construction as the Great Wall of China. Qin Shi Huang launched many other significant works, including improving the canal system so vital to his empire.

Colorful legends surround the august ruler. If these tales hold truth, the First Emperor was preoccupied with attaining immortality. Word reached him that islands of immortality existed in the East China Sea. If fortune was with him, young men and women might be able to procure an elixir of eternal life. Thousands were sent on this critical mission. They never returned.

Knowing that the possibility of death remained very real, Qin Shi Huang set about constructing an elaborate tomb. According to the history records of Sima Qian, the Emperor constructed a vast underground realm, including flowing rivers of quicksilver and hundreds of palaces. The tomb has never been opened to the public eye. Of note, the mercury levels in the burial mound, as measured through bore holes, have been confirmed at very high levels.

The Emperor took great pains to defend his tomb. In 1974, Chinese farmers started digging a well in Shaanxi province. What they unearthed is one of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made. In time, over eight thousand terra cotta warriors were found, marching in columns in multiple pits. Thousands of artifacts have been located, including bronze chariots and horses, and numerous weapons, such as crossbows, spears and battle axes. Statues of musicians and acrobats claim a place in the tomb, along with bronze birds and other favored animals.

These amazing discoveries claim a rich place in history, sparking ongoing debates about the purpose of the great terra cotta army. My upcoming fantasy novel, Arid Rider, explores this remarkable world. Enjoy!

–Kate Calina

 

 

A Story of Burma: BAMBOO PEOPLE

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048Burma is a fractured land. Many ethnic peoples dwell along its eastern border, neighboring Thailand. The constant turmoil has uprooted thousands of people, often Karen and Karenni families. The Burmese army closes in on small villages, burning them to the ground. The villagers are forced to flee their homes, or risk becoming impressed into the Burmese army. When that happens, they may be compelled to carry weapons for the army—weapons that will be used to destroy those dwelling in the next village.

The first refugees my family worked with were Karen refugees from Thailand refugee camps. Recently I read an excellent book by Mitali Perkins about the conflicts in Burma, entitled Bamboo People. The plot revolves around Chiko, a young man dreaming of becoming a teacher. When Chiko sees an announcement in the Burmese papers to make his application in person, he decides the time has come. He arrives at the address to take his teaching exam, only to be forced into a bus by Burmese soldiers. In a matter of minutes, he is taken to the depths of the jungle to begin three years of forced service in the army.

On his arrival to the camp, the indoctrination begins at once. Chiko is told the Karenni tribe wants to tear Burma apart. In order to save his country, he is ordered to fight the Karenni. These orders come from the same military force that arrested his father, a doctor, for using his healing gifts for an “enemy of the state”. Alone in the mountainous jungles, stripped of all he has except for two photographs and his broken glasses, Chiko has to find his way through this new life.

Bamboo People is a powerful story of a young man facing monumental challenges. Chiko is surrounded by young recruits who don’t want to kill the tribal people any more than he does. The Burmese soldiers drive them hard, through jungles full of hidden mines. In these life-changing times Chiko learns lessons of courage and friendship that prove to be crucial for his survival, and for that of the Burmese youth with him. In the jungle he encounters a Karenni refugee, Tu Reh. whose life-giving decisions impact Chiko for the rest of his life.

Bamboo People tells a story that needs to be heard. It’s a story of hope and of truth, vividly written. This post is dedicated to the people of Burma. For more information, Mitali Perkins has great resources at her website: http://www.bamboopeople.org

–Kate Calina

In the Beginning

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IMG_0745“The sun faltered in white winter skies, throbbing as a thousand cranes took wing from thawing lotus ponds. Keening cries welled up from the icy waters, erupting across the abandoned orchard. Maizang glanced up through a tangle of gnarled branches at the darkening sky, gripping the hilt of her dao. Fading sunlight rippled across gleaming wings. Drops of water flicked the peach orchard as the cranes flew south beyond the ruined walls.”

What’s happening here?

A mighty khan ruler attacks ancient Chinese border villages, overpowering all their forces in relentless assaults. Realizing there was only one way to restrain him, the Emperor relinquishes an unwanted daughter as an imperial bride, exiling her to the steppes of Mongolia. From their paradoxical union a princess arrives, born to ride the frozen plains as an Arid Rider.

One fateful afternoon Princess Mei rides with her mother to a remote peach orchard, abandoned since the dark evening when a supernatural blast destroyed the famed Little Lotus pagoda. After a deadly assault, a portal opens up in the heavens, allowing an incursion of djinn from their home in Khuré.

In that moment, Mei becomes a Bianjie, one who crosses the boundaries of space and time. She hears what others cannot, and knows what others cannot even begin to conceive. Her enemies want her to see only that which is twisted, darkened. Cosmic events unfold as the sun shifts from its orbits and the moon disappears. Learning that the focal point of the djinn incursion will be in her mother’s capital city, Mei rides hard to face the attack, accompanied by Kunnan, a professional Chinese mourner and concealed sorcerer. They arrive in Jingcai only to learn that the Emperor is dead, and with him, his dynasty. Executions have been ordered for all members of the imperial family.  With enemies closing in on every side, Mei has to find a way to defend her world.

–Kate Calina