Chacounne, aka:
Standing for justice and accountability,
For Dan,
Heather
needs our help.
We all know her as the relentless anti-torture activist and purveyor of hugs. Many of us know that she manages all her activism and support of others even while she lives serious disabilities herself. How she does all that and maintains a sense of humor is almost beyond my comprehension. But I can tell you first hand, she is both strident and hilarious! My first Netroots Nation would not have been as memorable without her presence. Fighting Islamophobia on the streets and roaring over margaritas. Life at it's fullest.
Right now, she is also distressed. If the "Kossack is need!" siren call has already struck your heart, you can send a paypal donation to the this email address: chacounne [at] gmail [dot] com
If you'd like to hear more, scroll on down beyond the Kos de lis of infinite orangeness ....
As anyone who lives on a disability income knows, that budget is tighter than misogynist sphincter when it senses a feminist. There simply is no leeway. So, when out of ordinary expense arise, fundamental living needs get shorted.
Here's what happened with Chacounne this year, in her own words:
As you may remember, last year I moved into a subsidized co-op apartment. Things have been going very well there, and I finally feel like I have a real home, complete with a furry Queen of my kingdom, a pootie whose name is Gucci (she came that way.) One of the challenges with this move was that I had to set up a whole household, for the first time since I moved from Vancouver to Ottawa, so I needed to purchase a couch, a chair, curtains, pots and pans and dishes, lamps, etc. etc. Unfortunately, neither the Province nor the City of Ottawa, paid for any of this. So I used the funds which should have gone for paying my "Enbridge" bill. They are the folks who supply my heat and hot water. I have been working to pay back those funds but it has become too much. I can pay the ongoing charges, but need help with the backlog. They are now, after being very forgiving, demanding payment. The bill is $879.08. Sigh !
So, we have an immediate - as in, by Friday! - need to raise nearly $900 for her heat and hot water bill.
In communicating with her over the past months, some of us also learned that her computer had died. It will come as no surprise that her primary need for the computer is a piece of serious activism work:
As such things go, my laptop just died, which has been slowing down my work, because I can only use my library's computer for an hour a day. I am currently working on a large project for next June, bringing together thirty torture survivors and/or their families to do a Youtube a day in commemoration of Torture Awareness Month. To get this done, it is really essential to have lengthy computer access. Basically, it will be a survivor or family member(s) looking into the camera and putting up 3x5" cards one at a time with their message about one method or aspect of torture. No sound. This was an idea that got its genesis at Netroots Nation in one of panels and I'm finally taking it on :) Many of these style youtubes have gone viral, so I'm hoping. The idea of having the cards is that people will be drawn in because they have to read it, not just listen. I hope this helps.
What she's working on has the potential to for profound impact on anti-torture awareness. It simply isn't feasible for this to get done via one-hour shifts at a library. She needs a computer for this. One which is capable of video-editing.
We can do this. She's always there for everyone else. A constant voice of emotional and moral support. It doesn't take that many people pitching in $5, $10, $20 or $50 to accumulate enough for a decent computer. Will you join in?
Here's how to help: Donations should go to her Paypal address, chacounne [at] gmail [dot] com. If you prefer to send it by mail, Kosmessage me and I'll give you the address, but I don't feel that it's safe to post it in a diary. She adds: "For those in Canada, they can use the paypal email to send a Electronic Funds transfer, which sends the funds directly from their account to mine, without either of us knowing each other's account number, and with only a dollar charge :)"