An Origami Action: Birds for Peace & Compassion

 "Be the change you want to see in the world."                                    ~Mahatma Gandhi 

With dismal authoritarianism taking over our country, with human rights violations an everyday occurrence, and with the devaluation of our intellect, science, gender identities, cultural backgrounds, and immigration status, we are increasingly finding ourselves looking for opportunities to come together in this moment.

What if we take one day to stand for harmony?  For hope?  One action to unite us, fortify us, and symbolize the peace and change we so desperately need? 

Well, this activity is for you!  

During the month of January we will be gathering, in person and online, to simply do origami, the ancient art of folding paper.  We hope to create as many origami birds as possible.  Long considered a symbol of peace and hope, we plan to come together and deliver them to the nearest ice detention center. 

Perhaps we’ll gather them in a garland to hang on a fence or from a tree. It won’t matter if there is one bird or an entire flock—the symbolism is the same:  In these times of chaos and lack of empathy, where hatred is made acceptable, we will stand together for peace. We will stand for the love of one another.  We will recognize the inherent worth of all of us, no matter from where we come.  We will reaffirm that all people deserve to be treated with respect, justice, equity and compassion. 

Please come join us.

SIGN UP FOR A WORKSHOP

You can sign up individually or as a group! Just  register at the bottom of  the page.

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.

Absolutely! If you don't know how to create an Origami bird, no worries - neither did I! We will be holding several workshops, in person and on Zoom, to show you how to create a bird. We will actually demonstrate 3 origami birds, one easy, one a bit more complicated, and one for last! SO anyone can become involved at any level.,

WHAT IS THE TIMELINE?

We are hoping to deliver our birds to the ice detention center closest to us on President's day - Monday, February 16  - that seemed like an appropriate day to celebrate peace and freedom. We welcome you to do the same. 

We will set a time to meet at the center closest to us, in Burlington, MA., most likely at 11 am. If you cannot deliver them in person, no worries!  Feel free to send them to us, or we can pick them up if you're close by. And we will make sure the birds arrive at their destination unscathed . All birds you would like us to deliver need to arrive at our address in Salem no later than February 1st.  We will also be looking for volunteers to help assemble the birds between February 1 - 15.

NOT IN OUR AREA?

No worries! We encourage  you to create origami birds all your own, and gather them together to deliver at the ICE facility nearest to you on President's Day. Some of our groups will be providing music for this action, and even bubble machines.

REMEMBER

Please remember like all actions at Indivisible, the purpose of this action is one of  peaceful protest. We expect it to be non confrontational, and all participants to exhibit the traits of non violent protesting. If, for any reason, the powers that be chose to not allow this action, please just put your cranes as close to the facility as possible, without confrontation. Better yet, find a place in your community where you can display the cranes where they will be seen, and their message sent. There are community and  faith groups planning on distributing them in their gardens, or displaying them in front of their buildings. Although our main focus is the detention center, we can send the same message of peace and compassion through displays in our communities as well.  Remember: the cranes are symbols of peace, hope and healing; let us be instruments carrying the same.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?

Fell free to contact us with any questions you might have at salemscall@yahoo.com