We are sisters. We are daughters. We are mothers. We are neighbors, we are friends. We are caregivers, nurturers, students and educators. We are advocates, humanitarians, legislators, administrators and authors. We come in all shapes and sizes, all colors, cultures, and all hues. We inhabit all corners of the globe and represent every faith. We have lived and died in every historical era. We are beautiful. We are strong. We are intelligent and we are resilient. We are hope gained. We are flight above this mess. We are made from the dust of this precious earth and we are made in God's very image. We are women. Hear us...
Tonight Breaking Free* held their annual candlelight vigil for women in our city, and every city, who have been killed or driven to death by the despair that is modern day slavery/prostitution. Tonight i held a candle in the air for women who have lost their lives to human trafficking. Tonight i shed tears for women in my community who have had their dignity ripped/raped. Tonight my heart shattered for a woman who was stabbed 50 times and shoved into a trash can. Tonight my soul sank for the 19 year old who lost all hope and jumped from a bridge. Tonight i felt the stab of that knife and the impact of that concrete. Tonight i mourned the fact that what was once beautiful and precious (woman hood) became so abused, so neglected, so hated, so oppressed. Tonight i felt my own femininity commit suicide and i felt my womanhood murdered. Tonight i recognized that these women lost were my sisters, my daughters, my mothers, my neighbors, my friends.
To every woman whose life was stolen, i will not forget you. You were created in God's image and you were clothed in strength and dignity. You were not a whore, you were not a bitch. You were beautiful, beautiful women.
*Breaking Free is a Twin Cities organization serving women and girls involved in systems of abuse, exploitation and prostitution/sex-trafficking. "Sisters helping sisters break free." http://www.breakingfree.net/
