Imagine Goods

the Juliet dress $49

I recently began following a page on Instagram that bills itself as “a beauty-lover’s insta-gallery”, and my feed has been filled with stunning and poignant portraits by various artists, most of them done in oils and startlingly realistic. This morning I saw a post that, at first glance, looked like a modern take on an Old Master’s Madonna. Painted in muted colors, head covered modestly and tilted to the side, with some kind of an elaborately detailed scarf around the throat. Eyes fixed on a point in the middle distance, expressing the kind of sorrow that bespeaks unutterable loss—the kind of grief we see on all Madonnas’ faces (and that we instantly understand to infer the loss of a child). Only this Madonna had a rich brown, cocoa-colored skin tone and a gold stud on the side of her nose. My first thought was, “she’s so beautiful”.

Then I realized that it was not, in fact, posted by the art page as I’d thought, but rather, by National Geographic (@natgeo, reposted from @anastasiatl). And then I read the caption. And it was horrific. (TRIGGER ALERT –the following account is difficult to read, and horrendously, unimaginably, true.)

The woman in the picture is a 25-year old Rohingya named Rashida. Her story was heard by a Human Rights Watch team that is interviewing people in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, investigating the ethnic cleansing taking place right now in Burma. Here is the story from the post:

“The Burmese army attacked her village in late August, trapping hundreds on the river’s edge. The women and children were kept in the water under guard, while the soldiers systematically killed the men.

Then, the soldiers began to take away the women and children in small groups. Rashida was taken to a house with 4 other women. At the house, the soldiers grabbed her 28-day old baby from her and smashed it to death. Two other women had their three-month old babies killed in the same way.

Then, the soldiers began killing the 5 women with their machetes and knives. Rashida was stabbed and had her throat cut. When the soldiers were done, they locked the house and set it on fire. Rashida woke up in the burning house and managed to break through a bamboo wall to escape. She was the only survivor.”

After reading the caption, I scrolled up to look at the picture again. The “elaborately detailed scarf” that I’d thought was at Rashida’s neck was, in fact, a large bandage covering the entire front of her throat. But the look of numb devastation in her eyes was, indeed, that of the Madonna—it was the look of a mother who had watched as her child was murdered.

My first instinct when I come across a story like this is to turn away. I can’t take the pain of it. I want to scroll past and find a post with artfully arranged dahlias and autumn maple leaves. Or, even better, that new puzzle game that I recently downloaded on my phone which has a way of keeping me entranced for long periods of time. Maybe go make myself a hot cup of tea and find my kindle…anything so I don’t have to think about a story full of such enormous pain that my brain can’t process it. And I reason with myself that it’s ok to do this—my life has pain of its own, and we don’t have to bear all the suffering in the world, after all. And then I remember something I heard recently:

“Sorrow is a near enemy to compassion and to love. It is borne of sensitivity and feels like empathy. But it can paralyze and turn us back inside with a sense that we can’t possibly make a difference…In the face of magnitudes of pain in the world that come to us in pictures immediate and raw, many of us care too much and see no evident place for our care to go. But compassion goes about finding the work that can be done. Love can’t help but stay present.” (Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living)

And so I am reminded that I must work to stay engaged. So…what can I do? Well, to be honest, I’m not sure exactly what I (or anyone) can do to help Rashida right now, much less the hundreds of thousands of other Rohingya, each of whom has a story of violent suffering of their own.  But if I stay aware of their pain, not turning away from their stories, perhaps a way will become evident at some point. (And, in the meantime, we can donate to support the work of Human Rights Watch, which receives an excellent Charity Navigator rating of 4 stars.)

This world will always have pain, true, but we CAN lessen it. We CAN make a difference. And we can do it with something as ordinary and seemingly mundane as the way we shop.

October is Fair Trade Month. We at Imagine Goods want to remind ourselves (and our supporters) that a world in which all goods are fairly traded is a world with less pain. When workers are paid living wages and can support their families with nutritious food and clean water, and can educate their children, the developing world WILL see less violence.

Survivor-made goods to cheer your table (in more than one way :)

As we at Imagine Goods work to empower survivors of trafficking, we realize that there are people all around us who need to be empowered in different ways. We desire to promote a society in which we all work together, listening to each other and working against injustice. So we begin by making a statement. 

But we can’t ever fool ourselves into thinking that making a statement is enough. Liking a social media post isn’t enough. Buying and wearing a t-shirt isn’t enough.

So we begin by making a statement, but we proceed by living it. Let’s start by listening. Listen to someone who feels unheard.

If you are part of a historically privileged group, go listen to someone who is a part of a disenfranchised group (try to find someone who is different than anyone you’ve ever been friends with).

If you are part of a marginalized group, go listen to someone who is from a different marginalized group (every story is different, and their experience will likely be different than yours).

Remember the old adage about loving your neighbor? These people are our neighbor.

And then there’s that (much harder) one about loving our enemies. There’s that person who drives you cray-zy! The things they say make your ire rise up and choke you. You know what I’m going to say, right? Yep. Go and humbly listen to them. Someone infinitely wiser than me said, “If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that.” (a teacher named Jesus)

Then do something. It doesn’t have to be a big thing…just something. Let those acts of mini-love build over time. Commit an act of humble subversion against a system of injustice (some of you are familiar with the term “walking in the opposite spirit”—do that).  Be kind in the face of rudeness. Join a discussion group with people who aren’t like you.  Make a donation to put your money where your heart is. Give more than you think you can. Trust me…you can.

We at Imagine Goods are releasing a new line of Justice t-shirts today; they each make a statement. But we wanted to be sure that if you buy one of these, you’ll actually commit yourself to living it.

Be ready to explain why you are wearing the shirt. But be quicker to listen than you are to speak. If someone sees you wearing it and wants to talk (it may be a conversation starter), be humble. Listen. (If you start to feel defensive, go away without responding and ask yourself why you feel defensive.) If you are part of a historically privileged group, you may be surprised that disenfranchised people express anger while talking with you. (Try not to be offended. Just listen.)

So here is your checklist before you wear one of our Justice tees:

         * I have listened.

         * I have taken a stand against injustice.

         * I have loved.

After spending 3 days in the fabric markets of Cambodia, today I delivered all the carefully chosen fabrics for our Fall/Winter line to our partners.  I love visiting with our partner organization.  I am always humbled as I walk into the workshop. 

You see, Imagine Goods was started & created for the PURPOSE of providing empowerment through employment for survivors. That is why we EXIST.  And, when I walk into this workshop and see smiles, see a safe work environment, see survivors who are now Artisans & are being empowered through employment,  I am humbled & in awe to think of the hard work it took for them to get to this place. 

Today, as I sat down with the head seamstress, the manager of the workshop, and several others I was excited to talk through some of our new products, to show them new fabrics and to check in with how they are doing.  I was super excited to hear of the new programs they are working on, the creative ways they are organizing things and the continued plans for growth they have.

I also heard again just how vital and important these jobs are to survivors.  You see, when individuals are rescued they receive counseling, health care and many other needs are taken care of.  They are then able to be trained in jobs and have dignity, hope and the possibility for an empowering future as they have a good job option.  This option continues to grow and build for more and more survivors as more and more jobs are available & able to be offered.  So - the availability of jobs is directly linked to the empowerment, the aftercare and ability of teams to perform rescues.  Without the opportunity for a job a rescued survivor has very little option but to return to what she was just rescued from.

Today I learned that more jobs are needed.  There are more girls to be rescued.  Quite simply your purchases matter.  They are quite important to the Artisans we currently employ and to so many more who are waiting to be employed.