The Nahmias Cipher Report

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 09:55 AM EDT, 5 August 2011 U.S. federal government officials announced the arrests of 52 people involved in an international online child pornography ring that  exploited children through a bulletin board with the moniker “Dreamboard.” The arrests were the culmination of an investigation launched in late 2009. Code named ‘Operation  [...]

Today, 03 May 2011, the organization Save the Children released its annual report ‘State of the World’s Mothers,’ also referred to as the Mother’s Index, it ranks countries by the care each country provides for its most precious resources – mothers and children. I was sad to learn that America continues to decline in ranking as it embraces corporatism at the sacrifice of family. Many mothers, including myself, often find ourselves on the loosing side of the battle to balance work and motherhood. A battle in which we are required on a daily basis to choose work over our welfare or that of our children.

It is true that many in the world could accuse us of being soft and spoiled and I would have to agree on whole because the quality of life in America far out strips that of most mothers and children in many other countries. However, this fact does not diminish the struggles that American mothers are increasingly facing, and which is evidenced by America’s decreased standing among developed nations.

“As African women and First Ladies, we have a tendency to downplay our strengths and achievements,” she said. “HIV in Africa is an African problem and we, as Africans, will work together to find the solution. This does not mean that we do not appreciate the generous support of our friends across the globe. It means that we will provide the leadership necessary to fight this epidemic.” ~ Mrs. Azeb Mesfin

This morning Americans were greeted with recaps of CNN’s sobering and scathing report about child sex trafficking on Craigslist. This is not the first time that this allegation has made headlines, however, last night’s exposé signaled the beginning of a frontal assault on a long smoldering problem of Craigslist facilitating the trafficking and sale of children for sex.

Last month, two young girls sold for sex on Craigslist wrote letters to CEO Jim Buckmaster and Craig Newmark. One of them, M.C. who was first forced into prostitution at 11, told them she was forced to post her own ads to Craigslist during the day, and then answer them at night. Her pimp drove her around the country for years, using Craigslist as the primary means to advertise her. If she didn’t post on Craigslist, M.C.’s pimp would beat her and dunk her in ice water baths. The website was a central figure in the years of slavery and abuse she suffered.

Finally, there may be a modicum of justice for rape victims. No longer will a woman have to prove that she did not ask to be raped because of her manner of dress, circumstances or any other arbitrary means of casting aspersions on the victim.

South African Dr. Sonnet Ehlers has finally released to the market forty years later Rape-aXe, a latex condom that a woman inserts like a tampon. Jagged rows of teeth-like hooks line its inside and attach on a man’s penis during penetration, Ehlers said.

Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it — a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make an arrest.

“It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it’s on,” she said. “If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter… however, it doesn’t break the skin, and there’s no danger of fluid exposure.”

Most parents know the admixture of fear and excitement that precedes the arrival of a new family member. Whether biological, surrogate or adoptive, a thousand questions haunt us: Will we be good parents? Can we avoid the mistakes we feel that our parents made? Will the child be healthy? Will we have the capacity to love and nurture the child often at the expense of our needs and desires? Do we have the strength and stamina to see this through to the end which may mark our waning tenure on planet earth?

Of course this is not an exhaustive list, and people by virtue of their individual life experiences, personality, emotional landscape and thought processes may categorize these feelings differently, yet the basic essence remains the same. We are human, and as such recognize our fallibility. But for those who desire to procreate and to experience the challenge and accomplishment of unconditional love we push through these doubts to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.

One does not have to give birth a child to become a mother or provide the sperm that fertilizers an egg to become a father. Certainly, this is one means by which people can become parents, but just as many people choose surrogacy and adoption. Out of the millions of people who choose the latter, there exist an incalculable number of great parents who open their hearts so completely that the love and care they exhibit toward their children is indistinguishable from that of biological parents.

Unfortunately, far too many children fall prey to parents who are emotionally and spiritually stunted. These individuals join the rank and file of a cadre for whom the desire for children is commoditized to meet the procurer’s need for psychological or physical dominance, conformance with societal norms, free labor, or sex. I am intimately acquainted with the trauma a bad parent can inflict upon a child. During my childhood, my father’s hatred toward me manifested in both emotional and physical abuse which took years for me to process. Through intensive psychotherapy I continue to process and reconcile a world which had been turned inside out by the shortcomings of my seemingly omnipotent parental figure.

“I’m going to smile and make you think I’m happy, I’m going to laugh, so you don’t see me cry, and even if it kills me – I’m going to smile.” ~ Anonymous

Child pageants are as revolting and damaging to female children as the other heinous practices which have been highlighted in this blog. From Leblouh to Female Circumcision, the pain inflicted upon daughters by mothers who willingly participate in their physical and psychological abuse will haunt them for the remainder of their lives. These mothers are not bad people, they just want the best for their daughters when they try to physically mold and conform them to dangerous and idealized standards of beauty.

Ultimately, the problem with child beauty pageants is the sexualization of girls as young as 2 and 3 years old. There is no justification for this aspect of the industry. A child’s confidence lies not in how closely she can approximate a grown woman through the artifice of make-up, but in how we as parents help her to develop her innate gifts and abilities so that her external beauty compliments her personality and talent instead of dominating her existence.

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 22:25 PM EDT, 26 April 2010 KUNDUZ PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Afghan women have been subjected to increasing levels of violence since 2002. The war-torn region is subject not only to external forces as America and its allies attempt to fortify the borders against Taliban insurgents, but to the internal pressures [...]

The ANI association has organized the “Fortnight of Children of Africa,” a conference where leading proponents of the movement will publicly debate the issues and concerns of education in Africa. This is the 4th year of that this event has been held and the theme is “Children of Africa, Children of the World.” Last year’s event was hosted by Rama Yade, a Senegalese French politician who has served in the government of France since 2007. Watch the video of her speech here.

Children are our most precious resource and we must ensure that all children regardless of their country of origin, religion or ethnicity are protected, nurtured, and availed of all the rights, privileges, freedoms and opportunities that are the hallmark of the best of humankind. The well worn statement that “it takes a village to raise a child,” is as apropos today in this technological world as it was when we lived in more pastoral environs. We are the village and though most of us live in virtual worlds, when we choose to be physically present and engaged with people, we are truly powerful and can make a difference.