Bell Chapel had a large crowd for "Movie Night for Trees" sponsored by the Providence Tree Advisory Committee Friday evening. We saw The Man Who Planted Trees, an Academy Award winning animated film, though describing it as animated isn't just because it's a cartoon. It is not animated in the sense of dynamic or frenetic, being the story of a man who silently, every day for decades, plants acorns and other tree seeds, one by one. The animation, the life, the in-spire-ation, comes from the result of this ongoing seed planting: the transformation of a desolate place into a thriving community of people who can live off this land again. The reforestation makes the valley habitable, restores the running streams, wildlife, bees... in fact, LIFE in every sense. That's the true animation. The story's author, Jean Giono, said it was really a fictional tale, but the Wikipedia article gives names of "real-life counterparts" who have devoted themselves to planting trees. You might want to follow some of those links.
One of those other tree planters is Kenyan and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai, the subject of the other film shown Friday, Taking Root. I wrote about this film when it was in the RI Film Festival last August. Read more about Taking Root, which describes the grassroots Green Belt Movement's achievements both in enabling people to feed themselves healthy food, but also, to educate the people in how to speak up for themselves so a truly democratic society could take root as well.
Then take a moment to read a little more about Kenya. Since the film was made, terrible things have been happening in Kenya. The December 27, 2007, tumultuous presidential election led to tribal conflicts, murders of hundreds of people in unspeakable ways, and thousands fleeing their homes. A total breakdown into violence was avoided -- barely -- but early in March 2009, two human rights activists were murdered. Government corruption and disorder continue. I wondered if the recent murder victims had been in the Taking Root film (not as far as I know), but one man who was in the film, Kang'ethe Mungai, wrote about these murders on March 13, 2009. [Link to the article in allAfrica.com seems to want to open a popup. If you're using the latest Firefox, don't worry about that. The Mungai Op Ed...]
The NY Times page on Kenya give background on the great strides for human rights taken through 2008 and the subsequent unrest, murders and misery following the fraudulent election. Especially note Starvation and Strife Menace Torn Kenya -- NY Times, March 1, 2009; and Why Annan is a Worried Man -- the East African publication, Sunday Nation, April 5, 2009. The Manchester Guardian has an interactive feature that includes a timeline, the main players, and flashpoints on Kenya's election chaos.
Meanwhile, Wangari Maathai has a new book out on April 7, 2009, and she'll be speaking in Brattleboro, VT on April 11, 2009.
Despite the dangers and difficulties of building a peaceful and
prosperous society in Kenya, her book, The Challenge for Africa
The troubles of Africa today are severe and wide-ranging. Yet what we see of them in the media, more often than not, are tableaux vivantes connoting poverty, dependence, and desperation. Wangari Maathai presents a different vision, informed by her three decades as an environmental activist and campaigner for democracy. She illuminates the complex and dynamic nature of the continent, and offers “hardheaded hope” and “realistic options” for change and improvement.
With clarity of expression, Maathai analyzes the most egregious “bottlenecks to development in Africa,” occurring at the international, national, and individual levels–cultural upheaval and enduring poverty among them–and deftly describes what Africans can and need to do for themselves, stressing all the while responsibility and accountability.
Impassioned and empathetic, The Challenge for Africa is a book of immense importance.
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