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Join Me On The Bridge, A Celebration of International
Women's Day
By marciahopple on 2010-04-03 07:41:24
[caption id="attachment_1514" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I am in the world to change the world, SCW"]
[/caption] Women Against War has celebrated International Women's Day,
March 8th, with an event every year. This year we went global. We were part of Join Me on the Bridge, a worldwide show
of solidarity with women in war torn countries, sponsored by Women for Women International. Women gathered on bridges
as a symbol of building bridges to peace, and WAW chose a new venue for us, the very busy Henry Johnson Boulevard
Bridge running toward I90 from Central Avenue in Albany We held signs saying "Be A Bridge to Peace" and "War Is Not the
Answer" while hundreds of vehicles slowly passed in rush hour traffic. Many pedestrians also use the bridge. We also held a
banner about International Women's Day, but to the passing people the message was simply that a contingent of dedicated
peace activists, including a couple of men, were reminding everyone of the costs of war. Those costs are especially high for
women and children,who represent about 75 percent of civilian deaths in wars, according to Women for Women
International. Women for Women sent out the following descriptions of other bridge gatherings on March 8, including one in
New York City: * In New York City, hundreds of women and men celebrated in City Hall Park after walking across the
Brooklyn Bridge for a celebration featuring Women for Women International Founder and CEO Zainab Salbi, Former
President of Ireland Mary Robinson, Model Naomi Campbell, and Tim Gunn from Project Runaway. The Brooklyn Bridge
was practically covered with supporters from one end to another. * In the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Rwanda, women gathered to build the bridges of peace. The celebration included several government officials. * In
Kosovo, 5000 women attended the celebration on the Bridge in the Dragodan in Prishtina. The Country’s President
welcomed women. * In London, hundreds of supporters met on the Millennium Bridge. Supporters included award winning
singer-songwriter Annie Lennox and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom’s wife Sarah Brown. * In Bosnia and
Herzegovina, over 1,000 women attended a celebration on Ars Aevi Bridge in Sarajevo. The Country’s Presidents
welcomed the women to the celebration. * In Nigeria, hundreds of women from seven communities gathered at Nnamdi
Azikiwe Stadium and walked to Okpara Square in Enugu. They made banners and even had a uniform to show their
solidarity. * In Sudan, hundreds of people from all districts came to Barnam Bridge in Rumbek, Sudan. Photos of
gatherings are on their website, www.womenforwomen.org. In our case, we learned the lesson that we have to ask someone
to be our photographer at an event, rather than each of us thinking the other will bring a camera! We were seen by
innumerable drivers, passengers, and passers-by, which is what really matters!
