Going beyond ourselves

"If you have come to help me
you are wasting your time,
but if you have come because
your liberation is bound up
with mine,
then let us work together."
From an Aboriginal activist group.


Hi Folks, this is Michael again.

I have a few minutes before Judy and I start helping deliver lunch to the work teams out on their various assignments: gutting; landscaping; building; helping with the women's center. Due to my injury, I'm limited in what I can do, but glad to be of some help. There is a quote on the wall here in our "couchateria" - "If you have come to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." Kirstin continues helping with the "Blue House" - the distribution center. Vivian is helping with the "Orange House", which is the women's shelter. I believe she has been assigned to a particular client to whom she is attending (helping with doctor's appointments, travel to work, etc.).

We've had a good time so far, though we have met with challenges. Dared we to think we wouldn't be asked , perhaps demanded, by the present conditions to go beyond ourselves and our daily comforts? We each face different inner battles, I think, while here. For me, it is accepting my limitations,and working to be "attentive" to the stories of people around me. Others face fear, some struggle with the way in which Common Ground's organizing is different from our personal preferences. These are all real feelings, and add to our experience. Hopefully we are growing as individuals while we engage these feelings - we certainly are growing as a community.

Last night, we got a taste of New Orleans - trying some different cuisine and walking through the Quarter. Having been to New Orleans many times, it is sad to see the effects of the lack of tourism. A few of my favorite places have closed (which means less jobs). A number of chain stores have closed, and Bourbon Street is looking calmer than ever (perhaps a win for temperance?). While there is, of course, decadence beyond belief (typical for NOLA's Quarter), there is also destruction.

Again, there is pain and hope. You may find it difficult to imagine house, after house - block after. Imagine an entire city block unlivable - having been flooded. Imagine now that extends to the next block. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Getting a picture now?

I had a wonderful conversation with a young man staying here from Boston - he's been here a month. He rips up the piano, and plays a pretty sax, too. He said he has mixed feelings, and I agree. Why am I here? Where is our government?

New Orleans needs a new deal - hire people who need work to do the work that so obviously needs to be done. That way they get an income, and the work can continue. We who call ourselves volunteers ought to be standing up in righteous outrage to advocate for the people of New Orleans. I wonder if our greatest power is not coming here for a week to play volunteer, but forming advocacy projects where we are.

It seems we are here not merely to give a week of our time, but to better understand not only the work that needs to continue in New Orleans, but to better understand ourselves and the work that we need to do at home, for social justice.

There is a quote on the wall here in our "couchateria" - If you have come to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."

With whom is your liberation bound up?