Storytelling Critique: CAIR Coalition

The organization I decided to analyze was Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (CAIR). This is a nonprofit that provides legal assistance to undocumented people who are currently in a detention center or immigration proceedings. I watched their campaign video on their website. Although it does not have as many views, it does a good job presenting the story of an undocumented woman named Sara from Morocco. The first clip in the video is of Sara sharing how her dad used to beat her mom and sisters back in her home country. In the second clip of the video, the Director of CAIR highlighting Sara’s persistence and love for education that encouraged her to get/earn a visa to move to the United States. Sara came to go to school, but her visa expired, and she decided to stay. Later on, she gets in trouble with the law and is placed in a detention center. During her time in custody, one of her cellmates tells her about CAIR Coalition, and she agrees to meet with them to ask for legal help. Sara explains that CAIR was diligent to connect her to a pro-bono lawyer who decided to take her case. She eventually won the asylum case because she couldn’t go back to the violence in her home and country.

This woman was one of the lucky ones to get her status fixed, and her lawyer talks about the process in the video. She was in a difficult situation because she did not have any family in the United States and she could not even communicate with her mom while detained.
The story is moving, and it has an emotional appeal. I think the organization did a good job featuring Sara's story because she talks a lot about how she felt when she was away from her family. She also talks about feeling so hopeless that she never thought she was getting out of the detention facility. She is crying for part of the video. In the end, she shares that she feels empowered and independent because she can stay in the country without fear of deportation. 

This video also includes some of the moral foundational values (Matthews et al., 2016) we discussed in class. The Director points out the harm detention brings to families, and they care to bring hope to the hopeless. The Director says, “if Sara had been deported... I think is not just a loss for Sara, but it’s a loss for the humanity that we all believe in.” I think this quote was essential because it’s a wake-up call for more people to care about this issue. This quote and whole video can make someone feel guilty because it brings up the unfairness/oppression of a system against refugees and migrants. It also a good job presenting numbers of people detained and the number of people they serve each year, which is about 5,000. The use of numbers can be used to show their successes, but the need to do more and get more money for resources.

The video was emotionally touching, but it was eight minutes long. The opening was Sara talking about the violence she experiences, and this could get people to finish watching it. However, the information coming up can be predictable. From the first minute, I could predict the story of success. I knew that they were able to help this woman and about the importance of their work. Some of the information was very repetitive, and it was coming from Sara (the person affected). I think they could have transmitted the same message without her repeating the same thing a couple of times.

Overall, I think the video can be useful to get people involved with the organization, but the ask did not feel clear because it's brought up at the end. It asks viewers to "Support. Partner. Educate. Advocate." The Director points out the importance of pro-bono work and donations to help people in need. A lawyer might feel encouraged to volunteer for the organization, and people can easily donate. Sara's story was powerful because it is coming from her. I think that if the Director or someone else narrated this story, it would have victimized Sara. That is one of the challenges some advocacy organizations face because they often deal with sensitive information and not everyone can show their face and share their life story.

Link to the Org https://www.caircoalition.org/
Link to the Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=354&v=lI7xFAYAorM

Event Report: Never Again

Is carefree childhood too much to ask? Well apparently for generation Z it is; a cohort of Americans, born after 1999 who are in middle and high school now are living in a constant fear of uncertainty.

March For Our Lives created inspired and, led by students across the country, brought thousands to the streets of Washington, D.C, on March 24, to demand that safety becomes a priority. Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida ― where 17 people were killed last month, used this forum to raise collective voices against gun violence.

Gun violence is nothing new in the U.S.A; neither is school shootings. Since 2013, there have been 291 school shootings in the U.S, which averages out to about one every week, as per the gun safety group. Last year, 65 shootings were reported at schools and universities.

Gun Violence is a cross-generational issue, which has repeatedly been protested in the past. But generation Z, who came of age in the era of cable news and social media, and is extremely savvy about the workings of the American media, is using it to engage a very diverse group of supporters. “It’s about amplifying the voices of current students,” Lysee Webb, who graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2003 and now lives in Brooklyn, said.

More than 800 “sibling marches” were carried out worldwide, from Maui to Lincoln, Nebraska, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Hong Kong. Here are some of the highlights of March in D.C televised event:

• Power of Silence: Emma Gonzalez, a student activist and Parkland shooting survivor, described how in six minutes and 20 seconds, the school shooter killed 17 people and injured 14 others.
• “I have a dream that enough is enough,”: Yolanda King, 9, granddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior spoke at the event and referenced her grandfather’s famous “I have a dream” speech in calling for a “gun-free world.”
• Naomi Wadler, an 11-year-old activist, from Virginia, represented women of color, who are more likely to see gun violence during their lifetimes.

These personal stories are what makes this movement so powerful.

It’s not the first time the gun control debate is taking center stage between The Second Amendment[1] wing and the advocates of ‘March for Our Lives’ with #GunControlNow. March for Our Lives’ is only the beginning but at least the efforts have reignited the debate, and hopefully this time we will reach a rational conclusion for the sake of future generations.




[1] “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Storytelling Blog Critique U for Uncertain

Our Better World is an organization supported by the Singapore International Foundation. It seeks to use the power of stories to impact change. Our Better World ran a campaign called A to Z Stories for Good, which used each letter of the alphabet to highlight an empowering word and story. The stories included in the campaign had clear focus for individual stories (which also means 26 separate issues) and encouraged people to help with the efforts.

For this assignment, I selected the letter U for Uncertain. The title was Cleaning up like a boss, and the first image is a video still of a smiling woman. This word Uncertain surprised me because it was unlike the other words which seem to be more positive. Words like Believe, Empower, Joy, and Real contrasted with the word Uncertain. The four-minute video was about a woman who found uncertain opportunities from the help of Aidha, a school to teach women in Singapore entrepreneurial and interpersonal skills. Aidha works directly with affected women, and it seeks to empower and provide opportunities for other members in the community. The woman in the video turns ‘junk into treasure.’

The format of the post is relatively simple. It begins with the video and includes minimal text description in the body of the content. There are a few options to click to aid the cause. These options include an option to become a mentor or sponsor. Each link takes the reader to the necessary page, and the sponsorship is $50. There are no options to share the blog or to make smaller contributions, so the options for supporters are limited. However, the layout of the options is aesthetically pleasing and clear to the reader.

Additionally, the story is told from a few different perspectives. The video starts with a woman who had limited opportunities. Then she found Aidha, and her life changed. I was concerned this may be a story about victims saved by an organization, but there was little focus on Aidha. One perspective is told from the point of view of the mentor, and it shows why she got involved. The text uses a different perspective, which I take as the perspective of Our Better World. It includes a little bit of background information, and they are the one’s asking for support from the reader.

After getting further into the video, I realized it was not a story about victims, but it was a story about powerful women making change in their everyday lives. Both the woman and the mentor shared their perspectives, and I was happy at the ending when the woman showed was proud of the progress and community contributions. The mentor had a small role, and it seemed to be included to demonstrate to the audience of what a mentor role could look like. At the end, the women are showed to be their own heroes. They are sheroes.

However, this is something I often wonder about. I sometimes feel as though people in the U.S. want stories about victims because they want to feel like they are making a ‘meaningful’ contribution. Because this story presents the issue, shows how someone made an effort to make a difference, and the women are happy, I wonder about the impact. At this time, I have not found out how well this section of the campaign did, but I am interested in the U.S. perception of stories about victims compared to the stories of those who are empowered.

As an effort to crowdsource, I am not sure if this post did what it was supposed to do. I think it would have been useful to have a share option, which is possible on social media, but there is not an option on the website. Additionally, I thought this story was pleasantly surprising in the campaign because of the varying use of the letter U. It did a great job of showing the positive in the word Uncertain, and it served as a good reminder that life is uncertain, but that does not mean it can’t be beautiful too.

Storytelling Critique Report by Shilpa Das Gupta: Greenpeace – Fight to make the seas plastic free

Greenpeace has been an advocate for the environment for a very long time. They fight for environmental causes using a 360-degree approach, involving state and non-state actors, civil society, NGOs and international organizations. For this blog post, I have chosen a cause which I personally feel very deeply concerned – environment pollution caused by the excessive use of plastic. This particular story is published on the Greenpeace website by author Tamara Adame.  She is a scuba diver in Mexico and an advocate for anti-plastic usage in coastal areas. She mainly fights against disposal of single-use plastic on the beach and in the seas and is determined to protect the coastline. That’s why she calls herself a mermaid against plastic!

                                                                        

Author Tamara Adame surrounded by trash in her community

Pic Courtesy: Greenpeace Website/ https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/

This website post follows a very personalized and intimate approach. It begins with the reasons why the author feels responsible for this cause, the ways this problem has affected her personally (“The sand I walk on is mixed with an indescribable mix of strings, pieces, and particles of plastic that are impossible to pick, gather or clean.”) and the reason that made her decision to advocate for the cause in the first place (“realizing that I am actively contributing to polluting my workplace started bothering me.”).  She urges the diving community to become more aware and go for disposable plastic options. Alongside she also urges the general people and government to support the diving community in this endeavor and help reduce the plastic waste in the seas.

                                                                          

Author & Diver Tamara Adame removing fishing lines and debris from the reef. © OK More Photography

Pic Courtesy: Greenpeace Website/ https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/

It is clearly identified that the author speaks in the first person, shares her own experiences, and the cause she is fighting for. This is not just her personal cause, her story addresses a much bigger and serious issue of water pollution caused by single-use plastic items. She urges a large diving community, tourists visiting Mexico and the Government to support this cause and take action. Adame speaks in the first person to add a personal touch so that readers can relate to it. Water and beaches are the center of the story and are shown as victims in the hand of pollution. Based on the types of story explained by Ganz (2008), this story has elements of both being a “story of us” (it is built on an individual story of Tamara Adame but is aimed to create a strong community of divers, tourists, policymakers to fight water pollution) and “story of now” (this is an extremely alarming issue and needs action to be taken right now). The story is built on an active tone. This goes well with the timeliness and urgency of the issue.

The moral foundational values evident in this storytelling piece are:

Ø  Care – Tamara deeply cares about the cause. She loves the sea, sea animals and beaches. She has been personally affected by the growing use of plastic on the beaches. As a diver, she has realized that some of the actions of the diving community (like the use of disposable water bottles) have been the key cause of water pollution. She wants to change this. She wants the diving community to use reusable water bottles. She is also requesting the tourist to understand that using reusable bottles is completely hygienic.

Ø  Cheating – Tamara points at the multinational businesses like Coca-Cola and Nestle who pushes for single-use packaged drinking water bottles. These businesses do not promote enough about the need of using reusable water bottles and push for single-use bottles.

Ø  Loyalty – Tamara’s loyalty towards nature and especially towards the seas have inspired her to work on this issue. Her passion and enthusiasm are evident in the story and how she is inspiring others in her diving community to take action.

Ø  Authority – To some extent this story also talks about the importance of the role of authority i.e. the government in this endeavor. She clearly states that the government needs to put pressure on the diving industry to establish plastic-free zones and use non-disposable bottles. It is also important to influence public policy and enforce the law.

                                                                         

A perfect beach covered with plastic trash. ©Karen Fuentes.

Pic Courtesy: Greenpeace Website/ https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/

One drawback of this story is that Tamara does not clearly say what concrete actions she has taken herself so far. It is visibly evident that she is deeply concerned about the issue and is very well aware of the situation. She has also done her research on different aspects of the issue but it is not mentioned what actions she herself has taken. Also, there is no clear call-to-action like a request to sign a petition or donate to the cause. Tamara’s story clearly supports the larger environmental advocacy of Greenpeace and clearly explains the concern but it is not clear what the readers should do on their part.                                                                   

                                                                         

Plastic is choking the oceans. ©Armando Gasse

Pic Courtesy: Greenpeace Website/ https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/

Link to the Greenpeace website: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/

Link to this story: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/