Order your tickets online and save with our reduced advance purchase rate.  Please click here to buy your tickets today!

.

.

Signing up is as easy as three steps:

1) Contact the Iowa UNA (unaiowa@unaiowa.org or 319-337-7290) and tell us how many UNICEF boxes will need to be mailed to your household.

.

2) When Halloween rolls around, take to the streets and ask your neighbors and friends if they are willing to donate their loose change to help provide critical aid for children in Somalia.  Remember, your children can still ask for candy!

.

3) When you have collected your funds, count the change and send a check for that amount to the Iowa UNA office:

.

20 E. Market Street, Iowa City, IA 52245

.

Write ‘UNICEF’ in the memo line.  Iowa UNA will consolidate all funds raised across the state to send one grand check to UNICEF on behalf of all Iowans.

This year, Iowa UNA and friends hope to raise $5,000 in loose change for UNICEF’s mission in Somalia.  Your collective effort can help make a huge difference for the Horn of Africa!

If your non-profit, place of worship, or school is involved with this campaign we would love to hear from you!  Please send all notices and inquiries to yashar@unaiowa.org.

Here’s how you can help. Four current and former Iowa Students will be running in this year’s Minneapolis Marathon, and have decided to dedicate their race to UNICEF’s mission for Somalia. There are a couple ways for you to get involved! You can make a marathon pledge and donate $26 for each mile of the race or you can make any size of contribution as you wish, anywhere from $10 and up. If we get just 40 people to make a $25 donation than our goal will be met!

Don’t want to make an online donation? Then feel free to send a check made out to the Iowa UNA, 20 East Market Street, Iowa City, IA 52245. In the memo line write: Runners for Somalia.

.

About the Runners

Zach Curtis: University of Iowa Graduate, Iowa UNA Administrative Personnel, Will be his 4th marathon.

Kyle Siefers: University of Iowa Student studying Biology, Triathlete Competitor and 1st time Marathoner

Danielle Rahja: University of Iowa Graduate, Study abroad in West Africa, will be her 2nd Marathon.

Mimi Pysno: Whitman College Graduate, 1st time marathoner!

Please consider joining us in this cause as we take on Minneapolis and run for Somalia!

Go to http://www.crowdrise.com/runnersforsomali/fundraiser/iowauna learn more and make a donation.

.

As the world focuses on Sudan’s historic partition, an estimated 70,000+ Nuba have fled scenes of egregious indiscriminate terror at the hands of Bashir’s forces.  Satellite imagery has surfaced evidence of mass graves, while innocent Nuba continue to fall victim to air bombing campaigns, summary executions, and other horrors leaving entire towns abandoned.  With governments incapable of sending aid to the Nuba, it is our time to ACT!

Read the appeal from local members of the Nuba community in the Des Moines Register.

The Iowa United Nations Association has partnered with the Iowa Center for Genocide Prevention and Kristen Anderson of Save Darfur to ask for your help on behalf of the roughly 300 members of the Nuba Mountain refugee community in Des Moines.  Your donation can help provide antibiotics, mosquito nets (to prevent the spread of malaria), food, water, clothing and other essential items to those in need.  An estimated 20,000 of those who fled their homes are said to be living in trees and caves in the hills of the Nuba Mountains.  They NEED our help!

.

.

.

To donate, please click on the icon below and type ‘Nuba Mountain Aid’ in the designation box. The Iowa United Nations Association, established in 1953, is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.  For decades, we have engaged Iowans to support humanitarian fundraising efforts for pressing global causes through UN agencies such as UNICEF and UNHCR.

.

To donate by mail, please send your check with ‘Nuba Mountain’ in the memo to Iowa UNA, 20 E. Market Street, Iowa City, IA 52245.

.

.

For more extensive background on the escalation of violence in the Nuba Mountains, we have copied the latest analysis from the Save Darfur campaign:

.

Bashir’s Latest Victims

July 19th, 2011 by Shannon Orcutt

Background of South Kordofan Crisis

Fighting in the border state of South Kordofan, which contains the Nuba Mountain region, began in the capital of Kadugli on June 5^th when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) demanded the disarmament of members of the Sudan People Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N).  The SAF and allied militias rapidly escalated the violence conducting house to house raids, supporting widespread looting, imposing roadblocks, and continuing to conduct aerial bombardments which have had disastrous consequences for the people of South Kordofan.  Violence has now spread to villages throughout the state forcing over 73,000 civilians to flee their homes, disrupting the crucial cultivation season, and creating a human rights and potential humanitarian disaster.

The Government of Sudan has cut off nearly all access and prevented humanitarian organizations and UN peacekeepers from providing desperately needed aid and security and gathering information of abuses being committed. Local humanitarian groups who continue to access the area say they can only access around 10 percent of some 250,000 people in need and estimate that over 1 million people could be affected if the situation is not addressed.

Ethnic Targeting and War Crimes

The SAF and allied militias have singled out Nuba civilians on the basis of their ethnic identity and political ties, going house to house targeting civilians accused of being affiliated or supporting the SPLA-North and subjecting them to arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killings.  The UN has cited reliable secondary sources reporting the existence of mass graves, adding to recently revealed images by the Satellite Sentinel Project, corroborated by eyewitness accounts on the ground, that appear to be consistent with mass graves. The Sudanese Red Crescent Society has also reported burying 70 people in Kadugli. A preliminary report by the UN has indicated that landmines and unexploded ordinance have contaminated more than a third of Kadugli and have killed civilians throughout South Kordofan. The use of landmines also prevents humanitarian organizations from accessing many of the towns most critically affected by fighting.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, the Sudanese Armed Forces attacked Kadugli Catholic Church where over 200 civilians had fled to for safety. While in Juba, GI-NET/SDC spoke with recently displaced Nubian religious leaders who reported that the church has now been transformed into a military compound by the government. Further charges of targeting and burning of churches and indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas by imprecise Antonov aircraft (a war crime) underscore the urgent need for access for independent investigations.

On June 28^th, the Government of Sudan and the SPLA-North signed a framework agreement after weeks of negotiation in Addis Ababa, however it fell short of a ceasefire and within days Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir denounced the agreement and “ordered the Sudanese Armed Forces to continue their operations in South Kordofan until they clean the state of rebels”…“and not to stop until South Kordofan is purged as Abyei was purged before.”

Need to Protect Civilians

The government has also targeted peacekeepers in South Kordofan and has abducted at least eight UN personnel and killed an independent contractor working with the mission. On July 9^th, the mandate of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) expired, and the Sudanese government has objected to a continued peacekeeping presence in the North. As the drawdown of UNMIS forces begins, the peacekeepers who are still present are no longer able to use force to protect civilians nor able to provide much reporting due to travel restrictions. The absence of UN peacekeepers poses a serious threat to civilians in South Kordofan since they are no longer able to provide security for civilians or humanitarian organizations to enable them to deliver desperately needed aid.

The Role of the United States

While the United States has issued a number of statements condemning the recent attacks in South Kordofan, the Government of Sudan continues their campaign of targeting the Nuba people and expects the United States to continue to use rhetoric rather than action.  On July 9^th, Secretary Clinton actually commended the Sudanese government and stated that “by continuing on the path of peace, the Government of Sudan can redefine its relationship with the international community and secure a more prosperous future for its people.” Unfortunately, the Government of Sudan has abandoned the path of peace and instead continues to attack its own people in South Kordofan, Abyei, as well as Darfur; therefore, it is essential for U.S. action to reflect Khartoum’s offenses.

It is critical for the Obama Administration to impose serious consequences for the Government of Sudan’s atrocities against civilians and to:

• Immediately suspend progress toward normalization with Sudan, including the review of its status as a state sponsor of terror, as well as any steps towards review of debt relief or the lifting of sanctions;
• Immediately impose targeted U.S. sanctions on officials and militia leaders implicated in orchestrating violence in Abyei and South Kordofan;
• Support expanding and strengthening the existing UN sanctions regime to hold accountable individuals responsible for instigating violence in Abyei and South Kordofan;
• Urge the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation in Abyei and South Kordofan to the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability for atrocities committed against civilians; and
• Ensure there is a UN civilian protection force with a human rights monitoring mechanism with access to South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Timeline of attacks in South Kordofan*

June 5th- Fighting between SAF and SPLA-North begins in Kadugli and Um Durein in South Kordofan
June 11th- Bombardments & artillery shelling reported in 11/19 localities in South Kordofan
June 14th- Two jet fighters dropped 11 bombs in Kauda targeting an airfield near a UNMIS base
June 17th- Heavy fighting reported in Heiban-Kauda-Um Dorein area. The SAF dropped two bombs within a kilometer of UNMIS headquarters in Kadugli, also reports of fighting and burning of houses
June 19th- SAF dropped at least seven bombs about 500 metres from the UNMIS airstrip in Kauda
June 22nd- 5 civilians were killed in aerial attack on Kauda. 6 UNMIS staff were arrested at Kadugli airport
June 25th- Bombing in Talodi was reported. An UNMIS staff member was arrested by SAF in Kadugli
June 26th- A train of Southern returnees was attacked by militia between Muglad and Meiram
June 27th- Aerial bombardments reported in Kauda and Kadugli
June 28th- Sporadic gunfire in Talodi and aerial bombardments in Umm Durein were reported
June 30th- Aerial bombardments reported north of Julud
June 30th-July 5th- Aerial bombardments reported south of Kadugli
Early July- Sporadic gunfire reported near Kurungu and Talodi
July 6th- Sporadic gunfire in addition to bombing to the northwest and west of Kadugli
July 6th-9th- Kurchi was reportedly subjected to bombing by SAF forces
July 7th- Heavy aerial bombardment reported near Delami which resulted in many civilian casualties and large displacement
July 8th- Aerial bombardments 15km south of Delami and 15km west of Kadugli
July 8th-10th- Aerial bombardments reported 10 km southwest of Dilling
July 11th- Heavy bombing and gunfire reported around Kadugli town
July 12th- Two UNMIS national staff members were detained inside Kadugli town.
July 12th -13th- Reports of fighting in Salara and Al Tays
July 16th- Reportedly aerial bombardment 10km west of Heiban town

* There have likely been many more attacks but due to widespread access restrictions reporting has been severely limited.

.
Although the tension seems like it may lead to an outbreak of violence, that is unlikely. The south has no intention of entering a war at this point in time. They feel they have come too far and have sacrificed too much. South Sudan, where four out of five adults cannot read, defied expectations with its peaceful and orderly referendum. At this point, I think the South Sudanese government has made the right decision in choosing not to enter a war over this disputed part of Sudan. There are more important things like working to develop Darfur and the rest of the South.

Yosra Elkhalifa is a former volunteer with the Iowa United Nations Association. She is currently studying art at the University of Iowa and has donated samples of her work toward an Iowa UNA fundraiser for UN Women’s mission to end violence against women and girls.

Tapped Film Screening

Monday, May 16, 6pm – 8pm

Des Moines Public Library, 1000 Grand Avenue

.

After a storm postponed the original Tapped showing that was to mark World Water Day, the Iowa United Nations Association along with Food & Water Watch will again be showing the award-winning documentary. Learn why purchasing water bottles has critical far-reaching consequences. There will also be a brief introduction to the UNICEF Tap Project and the work of this critical campaign to bring safe tap water to the developing world.

This event is hosted by the Iowa United Nations Association and Food & Water Watch.

Contact: yashar@unaiowa.org

In an article by Nicholas Wade in the New York Times, the roots of modern language have been reviled. Biologist Quentin D. Atkinson has applied mathematical equations to linguistics to estimate evolution of language based on the number of phonemes in the language.

A phoneme is the simplest element of any language; think vowels, consonants, and tones. Through looking at the phonemes in a language Dr. Atkinson has found that the further from the likely origin-of-language a language developed, the fewer phonemes it has. English has 45 phonemes, whereas some languages in Africa have over 100. Because of the large numbers of phonemes in African languages around the southwest coast of Africa, and the dwindling numbers of phonemes as languages radiate outwards from there, the estimated birth place of modern language is around this coast. The key to understanding the way languages relate, says Dr. Atkinson’s advisor Mark Pagel, is to understand that though a language develops its own structure it also “retains a signal of its ancestry over tens of thousands of years.”

There is an estimated 6,700 languages in the world, most of which are spoken by fewer than 1,000 people. Four official languages of the United Nations –English, French, Russian, and Spanish—can all be found in the Proto-Indo-European Language family. Chinese is part of the Sino-Tibetan family, and Arabic the Proto-Semitic (or Afro-Asiatic) family. Trying to understand how these languages fit into history, and how they related to each other, has been the goal of Evolutionary Linguists since the 1800s. Language trees have been the result of these efforts, and I must say they are pretty interesting. Note the three language trees of the United Nations official languages if you find yourself looking to study a new language and wish to find something similar to your native tongue, or something only related by the origin from the newly famous Southwestern African coast.

After trying to figure out what I want to do with my life for the past three years of college at UIowa, I’ve finally decided to go back to square one. I like writing, I like languages, and I like knowing about other people, and that is about the extent to which I understand myself. Eventually I would like to be fluent in 5 languages–English, Indonesian, German, Spanish, and Gaelic–and then work as a linguist for the United Nations.

The Iowa United Nations Association will host “We Stand in Solidarity – A rally for the Middle East and Africa” on Wednesday, May 4 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Iowa City Pedestrian Mall near the Sheraton. The rally is a humanitarian fundraiser and a show of solidarity with peaceful citizen movements throughout the Middle East and Africa that have been met with egregious acts of violence.

The event is open to the public and participants are encouraged to bring a $1 donation for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and their special appeal for the refugee crisis in Libya. The donations will help provide assistance for UNHCR’s efforts in providing critical aid (food, water, tents, etc) for tens of thousands of displaced foreign workers and Libyans along the Egyptian and Tunisian borders.

Student representatives from various regional states in the Middle East and Africa will be on hand. This is a great opportunity to learn more about what is happening in the region and to show that Iowans denounce the murders of peaceful civilian protesters. A petition will also be at the rally respectfully requesting that the United Nations Human Rights Council reject Syria’s bid for entry into the council.

If your student or community organization would like to get involved, please email yashar@unaiowa.org.

For more information on the UNHCR, please visit their website: www.unhcr.org. For more information on the Iowa UNA, visit www.iowauna.org.

Makeup, girls, makeup. Makeup and hair and mirrors and everything that goes along with them. They are means of expression, self-control through our physical appearance but we all know that there are other implications to the beautifying processes that have become so integral to our society. Where is the line drawn between self-possession, expression and centuries of patriarchal formation of female identity placed upon us and can we separate the two? These are thoughts that I sometimes struggle with when I get ready in the morning or when I am putting on lipstick and eyeliner before going out at night.

Regardless, it’s also interesting to look at these things in other cultures and to see instances of makeup and fashion functioning as tools of empowerment. Yesterday, instead of studying, I searched through the instant watch choices on Netflix and stumbled across a documentary called The Beauty Academy of Kabul made in 2004, directed by Liz Mermin. The film followed the opening of a beauty academy and the first year of classes for Afghani women in Kabul. The women who opened the academy were either native born Afghani women who had moved to America at the time of the Taliban takeover or American women who wanted to help with the project. The goal of having the academy was to empower women by giving them back the ability to control their image and it also served to benefit the women economically as many of the women were or became self-employed salon owners.

Many of the students in the academy shared their stories and experiences about their lives under the Taliban. Under Taliban rule, women were forced to wear burqas and were prohibited by law from wearing makeup. However, regardless of this repressive regime, many women continued to run salons from their homes and would beautify others only to have their work covered by the concealing cloth. This unseen symbol of resistance is a true testament of the human spirit’s resilience and desire to resist repression even when the consequences of such an action could be deadly if discovered.

This documentary was definitely an interesting look into freedom of expression and what it can mean for a person. However, there were a few moments during the film that didn’t sit as well with me. I took no issue with most of the beauticians but one of the American teachers did bother me. She kept saying things to her Afghani students and cameras such as, “These women just want ‘normal’” and “Why aren’t you wearing any makeup? You have to be wearing makeup”. Her words and tone of voice were unsettling because they seemed to convey a distinct gap in understanding of a new culture. This woman had come to Afghanistan with what seemed to be the best of intentions but it also seemed as if she was unable to leave behind her ethnocentric ways of thinking and sought to impose her own concept of freedom on these women. I think one of the hardest things to remember when approaching a different culture is that we are not in possession of “normal” and we must attempt to understand the way that culture works in order to function within it and/or work to improve the lives of those seeking help.

The Beauty Academy of Kabul wasn’t my favorite documentary ever but it is definitely worth watching and brings up a number of interesting questions. Watch it, see if you agree.

Holly is a junior at the University of Iowa working towards a double-major in International studies and English with respective emphasis areas in Human Rights and Creative Writing. Her blogs will focus on international human rights issues, the arts, and ways in which they intersect.

Saturday, May 7th, 2011, 1:00pm

Meet at the Pentacrest in Iowa City, Clinton and Iowa streets

.

.

Help us create a world where women and girls live free from violence, poverty and inequality!

Join the Iowa United Nations Association and the University of Iowa United Nations Association in a Walk to End Violence Against Women and Girls. The walk is part of the mission of the US National Committee for UN Women (formerly UNIFEM).

On Saturday, May 7th, we will walk to support the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and to raise the profile of the issue of gender violence against women, to highlight effective strategies, and to urge that resources be invested to reduce gender-based violence. Walk with us to ensure that women around the world are safe and free.

This event will start near the black circle and will follow the route highlighted above.

We will meet at the Pentacrest in front of the Old Capitol at 1:00 pm. Our walk will begin around 1:15 pm and will last for about thirty minutes.

If you cannot participate, please consider sponsoring a walker or donating. Your donation will go to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. The Trust Fund distributes grants annually to organizations around the world that work to educate women about their rights, involve men in their efforts, and train police, lawyers, and judges in how best to respond to gender-based violence cases.

Participation is $10 and you may register before the event or on the day of the event. All proceeds will go to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. Participants will receive UN publications “Women Count for Peace” and “Making the MDGs Work Better For Women” and a packet “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls”.

To register, please simply provide the names of participants by emailing unaiowa@unaiowa.org or call 319-337-7290.   You may pay the $10 participation fee (all proceeds go to UN Women) at the event.

Alternatively, you can pay in advance by mailing the $10 fee to 20 E. Market Street, Iowa City, IA 52245.

Checks should be made out to ‘Iowa UNA’ with ‘Walk’ written in the memo line.

For more information on UN Women (formerly UNIFEM), please visit their website: www.unwomen.org