Activists Bring One Million Bones to the National Mall
Posted by Katie Smith on Jun 14, 2013
One Million Bones installation on the National Mall
On June 8, thousands of volunteers clad in white placed one million
handcrafted clay and paper mache bones on the National Mall in
Washington, D.C. The installation of bones, completed as the focal
point of the One Million Bones event weekend, represented a mass grave
of persons killed by current genocide and mass atrocities around the
world, including Congo, Syria, Somalia, Burma and Sudan. By
incorporating volunteers into the installation of her piece, artist
Naomi Natale called participants to be responsible for that which they
carried - the bones of genocide victims. The social art installation
was a forum to raise awareness, as well as a powerful “visible
petition” calling citizens and members of congress to action, by
illustrating the repercussions of inaction.
Alongside the installation, esteemed speakers such as genocide
survivors John Dau, Eric Ndaheba and Eva Kor addressed the personal
tragedy of genocide, the significance of the bones and the freedom of
forgiveness. Women’s rights activist Neema Namadamu called the crowd
to take charge of the inheritance they leave their children,
“We all want to give our children an inheritance, and we don’t
want that inheritance to be bones. Don’t invest in bones, invest in
life.”
Other speakers, including Tom Perriello, Dr. Mukesh Kapila, and John
Prendergast highlighted the power and duty of dedicated citizens to
exact real change. Through their reflections and proposals, the
presenters demanded a deeper, more sincere commitment to ending the
conflicts devastating the world today.
This call to action did not fall upon deaf ears. On Sunday afternoon,
hundreds gathered to attend workshops, which outlined steps to take as
students, activists, and global citizens to address ongoing conflicts
around the world. The weekend culminated with the Act Against
Atrocities Advocacy Day organized by the Enough Project and One
Million Bones on June 10. In line with the message of the weekend’s
messages, over 200 activists “brought a bone to congress” by lobbying
more than 90 congressional offices to support House and Senate
legislation addressing ongoing issues in Sudan and Congo.
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