POWOWs

At my workplace the television is on, nearly all the time.  There are a few stations that are frequently playing.  The Military Channel, The History Channel, The Travel Channel and the like are often left on for hours and hours without anyone changing them.  

Last week, prisoners of war were the focus of the day.  As I listen and work, I think.  Usually there are some life skills or perspectives that I will incorporate into my thinking that I expect will make me a better person.

One of the main take aways of my time there this week was when interviewing the POWs from the Hanoi Hilton, a common theme was the thing that helped these brave men make it through was their ability to find each other and communicate.  “Communication is everything.” one man said.  It allowed them to know what to expect, to share new torture techniques and anything anyone found that would help them get through it and that gave them a general sense of hope, because they knew they were not alone.

I was immediately transported back in time. A time when as a 14 year old girl, I was sold to men at an illegal gambling hall.  I had a pimp nearby, but I was terribly alone.  Often death would have been welcomed and dreamed of as a means of escape. It really was the aloneness, the absolute feeling that even though there were other people there, they saw me as an implement of their own gratification and not as a person.  I existed as a solitary object. 

The real War on Women is the extreme objectification of women and girls.  

I was a prisoner of this war on women.  There in this prison, sometimes there were physical barriers.  I’d been kept in apartments far from home or watched over, knowing one wrong move or saying the wrong thing, or crying out at all would mean much more pain.  

I learned that quietness was key to staying alive and getting out with less bruises and no broken bones.  I’ve never had a bone broken in all the times I was abused, bruised, hurt, despairing, diseased, but no broken bones.  

At other times it was all in my own mind.  Fear and flashbacks kept me from enjoying life after I got free.  Even now, there are times when I want desperately to do something, but fear keeps me from reaching out to try.  I wonder how many women have the same prison walls that keep them, both physical and mental.  

The objectification of women is all around us, in every art form, from tv, movies and music to magazines, advertising and the mall.  A girl doesn’t have to be used and abused to be in the prison of contempt for self.  All she needs to do is look around and compare herself with the airbrushed models and unrealistic expectations abound. 

Alone, all alone, girls are sold every day. Each of us can make a difference.  We can communicate the value of every life we come in contact with.  We can provide a community where the POWOWs can break free.  By talking with the people around you, you may be able to release them or help keep them from the prison in the first place.

People are of inestimable value at every stage, at every age.  

How will your communication defeat the real war on women?