Mission Update
When Judy Nutter, a United Methodist Women member from West Virginia Conference, went to Washington D.C., recently, she carried a list of issues affecting women, children and youth.
She went as part of an interfaith group to participate in "Wednesdays in Washington," a child-advocacy program of the Children’s Defense Fund, and in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Action Days, sponsored by the National Council of Churches.
While there, she planned to visit her Congressperson. She planned to tell him, "I’m here because God calls me to do this work," she said.
Her representative was busy, so she went to see another West Virginia legislator -- Rep. Nick Rahall II (D-W.Va.). An aid to Mr. Rahall agreed to see her. List in hand, Ms. Nutter began by telling the aid about her trip to Burma -- also known as Myanmar.
Ms. Nutter wanted Mr. Rahall to sign onto the Burma Freedom Act -- legislation that would bar U.S. import of goods from Burma that are connected to forced labor. The aid wanted to know more. Ms. Nutter was prepared.
She explained the Burmese government has refused journalists access to the country, is arresting people for political reasons and is forcing people into slave labor because of their ethnicity. The story of Burmese women and children is being silenced. 2000 and 2001 U.S. State Department human-rights reports say the Burmese government repressed ethnic-minority citizens in brutal and often arbitrary ways.
"There continued to be credible reports, particularly in ethnic minority-dominated areas, that soldiers committed serious human-rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and rape," the 2000 report says.
More than 5.5 million people -- 11 percent of the Burmese population -- have been pressed into slavery in the past decade. Amnesty International reports children 8-15 years old are building temples, and ethnic-minority civilians are being forced to construct infrastructure like roads and pipelines.
Even though Ms. Nutter wasn’t a constituent of Mr. Rahall, his aid promised Ms. Nutter that she would share the information with him. Ten days later, Ms. Nutter received an email from Mr. Rahall. He’d signed onto the Burma Freedom Act and asked Ms. Nutter to continue to let him know about issues affecting women and children.
Though Ms. Nutter didn’t get to cover her whole list of issues with the congressional aid, she plans to pursue more. And now she knows the importance of using her voice and telling leadership she’s a member of United Methodist Women.
"When you go to Washington, you’ve got to go see your representatives and senators and tell them why you’re there," she said.
If you can’t get to them personally, Ms. Nutter advised:
"Make those telephone calls. They’ve got to hear a person’s voice to get a bill moving."
Congressional aids told her personal calls, personal notes and email get attention.
United Methodist Women has resources to help you become an advocate for women and children’s issues in your community and on Capitol Hill.
Three brochures are available from the Service Center by calling 1-800-305-9857:
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