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Report from D.C. 7ISGI 2002 by Jeannine Parvati Baker IT'S A MIRACLE. At the beginning of March, I wrote to the Symposium Director, Marilyn Milos, to inform her I couldn't afford to attend and look what happened! We put out a plea to fund-raise for the Conference on Human Rights in Modern Society, a.k.a. the 7th International Symposium on Genital Integrity (7ISGI) in D.C. this April and two United Airlines tickets were donated for Halley & me, the conference registration paid, a room on the way to the airport pro bono, plus $1200 to pay for our hotel room & meals, gas for our caravan, taxis at airports, etc. It took a few weeks of effort to pull this together, yet well worth the time invested in getting donations to Six Directions, our non-profit corporation. It is still a mystery to me how ending the mutilation of children is crucially important and so deeply motivating to me, as I have no personal experience or guilt about it -- other than having a Jewish mother -- and, even then, she had only daughters. Yet when spring arrived and the funds werenıt available, I could only think about how sad Iıd be to miss the symposium. This fund raising effort allowed me once more to be the closing speaker at our symposium. I have already thanked many intactivists personally for their timely help and on our website (Six Directions page -- www.freestone.org). You know who you are. It is ironic that the major contributor to my fund raising efforts is someone with whom in the past, Iıve differed on almost all issues except circumcision. We have dialogued over the years about fertility and though we do not see eye to eye, by any means, he was by far the largest "anonymous" contributor toward getting us to D.C. this April. I have learned an immense amount about how the "birth machine" runs in the USA from him and he values our conversations in order to learn new possibilities for families who want to transcend the medical model. So it all came through -- I had the backing to attend the symposium once again. Marilyn never lost faith that I would attend this year it was an ordinary miracle for this devoted intactivist. Words cannot express how I feel now, knowing that it is not only my personal intention to be a voice to free all children from harm, but the desire of so many others who likewise passionately care about the babies. The babiesı voices have been ignored for millennia, so itıs about time we had an inter-disciplinary choir. The 7ISGI in D.C. was an event we have been waiting for since the 1st International Symposium in Anaheim, California back in the early 1980's. I have attended each one since the beginning as the "Mistress of Ceremonies". This time it was clear that the movement to stop the genital mutilation of boys and girls in the world has come of age. Now we have members from most countries and speakers from as far away as Italy, Israel, Australia, the U.K., Somalia, Canada, Sweden, and France, who truly brought international perspective to this complex issue. We met at the Georgetown University Conference Center, a beautiful setting for us to gather, filled with the history of those committed to the search for truth. The quality of the presentations was world class and engaged me thoroughly for the entire conference. My heart was wide open to all of my colleagues who work to make this planet one that honors babies and children from many fields anthropology, history, anatomy, urology, religion, psychology, law, ethics, obstetrics, pediatrics, and economics, etc. For the Closing Ceremony, I had Awards to give to the less visible members of our movement -- Amanda, the new wife of William Stowell -- for her courage and support of her now-famous and heroic husband. William Stowell has the on-going legal case against the circumcisor for his foreskin amputation twenty years ago. Since the age of fourteen, William educated himself about circumcision and impressed the general assembly with his clarity and commitment. His sole purpose is to bring attention to this issue so that unlike his own mother who signed away her sonıs foreskin when beneath the haze of post-op drugs after a cesarean delivery, all mothers will understand that there is no good reason to cut off any part of their newborn sonıs penis. Amanda was the first to be honored followed by Zen Anton, the seven-year-old son of a NYC doula and intactivist. He attended almost all of the sessions, which convened from 9 AM through 5 PM each day with an hour break for lunch. He reminded me of my Quinn (Baker), another longhaired young boy listening to the presentations at the symposium, silently drawing or writing during the lectures. Quinn stayed home this year to take care of the house and garden, for which we are grateful. I missed him, which I suppose is why Zen so favorably impressed me. 
Next to be honored was Halley Sophia Baker for supporting her mother all of these years. Halley has attended each of the symposia (even before her birth). Before the closing, she peered over my shoulder and saw my notes of people to be honored. She whispered to me that, in the interests of time (we were running 15 minutes late at that point), I could skip her Award. She said that just knowing about my wanting to give her one was enough. How could I pass by this opportunity to reward such humility? Kerry Peterson, Shane's mother, was also honored. I met Kerry in Sydney. We talked about being mothers and found a connection that bridged the two hemispheres. Her son had been horribly mutilated during his unnecessary circumcision and Kerry had no idea at that time or even much later how his botched circumcision had affected his soul. When we first met, though Shane had been involved in litigation for years at that point already, Kerry still seemed shell-shocked. This year, she had turned a corner in her journey and was radiant and proud to be the mother of such a pioneering and compassionate son. Last, I honored Marilyn Milos for once more creating a magnificent event and gave to her the Nile River Goddess pendant that I have been wearing since the last symposium. This token goes back and forth between us over the years, keeping our hearts connected and resonant to one another. Marilyn is the great-grand mother of our movement and rumored to be the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (or at least the Alternative Nobel Prize) one day in the not so distant future. At the end of our three edifying days together, a big surprise was in store for me. Marilyn had run through her list of intactivists who she wanted to honor for LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT at the symposium with me in advance of the event. When she brought up my name, I told her it would be redundant, as I already had my "award" -- I had an intact and loving family. So, when Marilyn gave me my own Lifetime Achievement Award before my closing ceremony, I was shocked to see the standing ovation acknowledging my work to bring back the natural way to families. My daughter Halley tells me that she had an interesting perspective while the award was being given to me. She was to the side of the hall and could see me from behind the podium when I folded down into a squat as the Moderator was reading my introduction. I was weeping by then and my head was bobbing back and forth as I covered my face with my hands. I leaned over to gather my notes and Halley tells me that I appeared to have my face in the crotch of the elderly man introducing me. He is the venerable head of NORM-UK, a retired physician involved in foreskin restoration and has the most lovely Oxford accent and distinguished countenance about him. Did I tell you his name? It is Dr Peter Ball. On that note, the Symposium concluded and we gathered for the march to the Capitol steps. Throughout D.C., the cherry blossoms were bursting into color and so were the not so camouflaged security measures throughout our country's capitol. I thought that it was an honest statement by our present administration that the government is no longer accessible to the people. Indeed, for this march, we were not allowed to stand on the Capitol steps. (On the way to D.C., even my shoes were confiscated by the feds to be checked for bombs at the Salt Lake City airport. I got them back good thing I had clean socks on that morning! These were my walking shoes and what I was seen wearing on the TV News program. But I get ahead of myself) Although our ultimate destination near the Capitol steps seemed to be isolated, the demonstration did get the attention of many commuters and tourists walking from the Ellipse to the Capitol. This time we were given FOX TV News coverage William Stowell and Steven Svoboda, Director of Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, were interviewed. Briefly Halley and I were seen with our colleagues carrying a huge poster to STOP CIRCUMCISION. We saw the report on the evening news in the hotel room of NOCIRC-International and were thrilled to see the news story about our conference and demonstration. Ken Brierley, the partner of Marilyn, exclaimed while watching the march on TV, "There goes the White Witch of the West!" when I marched by the camera. The police accompanied us as we walked and chanted to make our statement. It seemed to me that the local commuters were quite used to demonstrators and had the attitude my neighbors do when we stop traffic to let a snake cross the road. Itıs not exactly something that youıd wish would happen on the way hither or thither, and yet if it happens, it can be rather entertaining. As we were marching and chanting "Hey hey, ho ho, circumcision's got to go," I noticed a woman who was stuck in traffic get out of her car, peel a banana, and bite off the end. I pointed this out to the intactivist walking with me and he shouted out to the elderly fruitarian, "How appropriate." She gave us back a big grin. However, not all of the spectators were so congenial: We were heckled, cursed at, and ridiculed. And thatıs when we got a reaction worse was being ignored. (Like a baby being circumcised and no one hears the screams.) I had one personal success while marching that meant a lot to me. (This is how desperate I was for at least one success!) A carload of young men looked approachable. I darted away from the line of marchers -- NOCIRC cards in hand, in two languages. When the driver rolled down the window, I handed him a card (in English). The passengers looked interested so I gave them each a card, too. The driver asked where he could get a STOP CIRCUMCISION button like the one that I was wearing on my lapel, and so I gave it to him. I saw him putting it on his shirt as I reunited with the march. It is quite likely that everyone in that car had been circumcised as a baby, without the parentsı informed consent. These beautiful young men were beginning to do the healing work by caring about those yet to be mutilated through lack of information. From being victims to becoming healers -- I gratefully got to witness that moment. At the end of our march as we stood by the Capitol, Shane Peterson from Australia, asked me, "Why do Americans laugh at us?" (Shane is famous for being awarded a nearly half million-dollar settlement for his botched circumcision in Western Australia. His presentation left no eyes dry when he presented his slide show of his journey through surgical repair and that subsequent injury.) I told him that I thought that Americans laugh as a defense against feeling the pain about their own circumcisions, or from guilt if they are mothers who permitted the mutilation. Perhaps they laugh merely because we are a motley crew of protestors. Babies, kids, teens all ages, all the way to our elderly -- professionals to hippies, as well as many ethnic and religious groups are in our colorful assembly of intactivists. We are representative of all genders. Our group includes pre-babies (yet to be born) all the way to those who we wonıt see next year, as they will pass on. For a few minutes, we held silence at the closing ceremony to honor those of us who are mortally ill and celebrate those we honored last year who are still with us. Each one of us is precious. And who are we? We are nurses, musicians, bankers, bums, research scientists, clowns, social workers, mechanics, first peoples, anarchists, farmers, prostitutes (retired), contractors, lawyers, single parents, ex-patriates, radio show hosts, administrators, doctors, military men, journalists, educators, nerds, atheists, homeys, jocks, historians, pacifists, homemakers, saints, pilots, medical students, eco-activists, construction workers, families, immigrants, psychologists, accountants, midwives, philanthropists, ministers, real estate agents, and many more! There has never been a time when so many people, from all walks of life, are willing to protest against the most invisible form of child sexual abuse, circumcision, or genital cutting. It is inspiring to see how this movement has grown over the years. We are moving out of the adolescent phase of our work and now are somewhat less about protest than about education, a little less political and a lot more litigious. We will meet again in D.C. to march and speak out for the babies next year -- every year -- until the genitals (and souls) of baby boys in the USA and for all children everywhere are safe. And let us also remember to protect mothers from genital cutting by supporting freebirth. At our local hospital (central Utah), a birth is still considered "natural" even with episiotomy (genital cutting of the motherıs birth opening). See the letter from Dr. George Denniston about the co-arising assault upon birthing mothers as well as their sons. (See it printed on the Hygieia College page entitled, "Additional Postings" -- www.freestone.org) Beyond the end of sexual mutilations, our work will be to sustain the integrity of our Earth. Perhaps when we stop cutting the most sensitive and exquisite organs of our bodies, we will cease our disconnection from the ecstatic Earth, the original ground of being. If we can be kinder to the children, surely they will be kinder to our Earth. 28 April 2002 Joseph UT With gratitude to Marilyn Milos for editing assistance |
