Fern Holland

Person of Faith

Fern Holland was born August 5, 1970 in the small town of Bluejacket, Oklahoma. She grew up with her mother after her father and mother divorced. Her mother had attempted suicide and received electroshock theropy to try to elliviate her depression. Fern's mother was able to return from the lowest point imaginable to become a succsesfu counselor for those people with addictions and mental problems. Fern worked all the way through high school becoming her school's salutorian while holding down two jobs. She then went to Oklahoma Univsity and graduated in 1992 with pyschology as her major, then she attended the University of Tulsa Law School. She was immeditaly given a job by a prestigious law firm but found that her work wasn't as furfulling as she had hoped, so she changed jobs to a Tulsa law firm which allowed her to practice enviornmental law, but even this job did not allow her to help others in the way she wanted. She then signed up for the Peace Corps. She went to Namibia, Africa in the spring of 2000, to help teach the children and parents, but on September 11, 2001, she decided to leave Namibia to be with her family. She again started to work for her original lawferm she was formally a member of but was soon offered an oppertunity by Georgetown Law Center in Washington to learn about internation law. She again left another oppertunity for fame and glory to help in the establishment of human rights for women in al Hillah, Iraq. She was working for the U.S. Agency for International Development but later joined the Coalition Provisional Authority when they gave her the oppertunity to open women's centers in every porvince. She established many clinics and centers for the development of wemon's rights in Iraq, teaching women about organization, democracy, and other skills. She believed that since women were the most oppressed group they were Iraq's best chance at democray since they know the most about oppression and why it should be avoided for all. Fern was also able to get a 25 percent female membership in the Iraq national assembly although Iraq's females hold a 60 percent majority of the population, but in a country that formally withheld all rights from women it seemed to be a victory for her. Her dedication and stubbornness angered some of the male population and saw her work as a threat to their way of life, so on March 4, 2004 a group of armed gunman fired hundreds of Ak-47 rounds into her car while she was on the way to check on one of her clinics for women. At the age of 34 Fern was killed but her entire life was entirely dedicated to helping other people in need.     Fern was always concerned for others with little or no regard to her own personal saftey. She went to Iraq without any armed bodygaurds, protected vehicles or kevlar vests because it would present her to the women in a hostile way and it wouldn't allow her to get close enough to them. Even when she was allowed to have time to herself she always spent it on helping others. When she was home from Iraq during the hollidays, she spent the majoirty of the time writting to her assistant and translator in Iraq, helping to write new laws and parts of the constitution of Iraq. When she was in college she saw a young woman being beaten by a group of males and she was so angered by the viscious males and so concerned for the young woman that she herself rolled up her sleeves and joined in on the fight, tearing the boys away from the girl, even though Fern was small of stature. In a small Iraq town two Iraqi widows had been given a court order for a Saddam Hussien supporter to be removed from their land, since he had taken their land becacuse he was powerful in Saddam's regime. No one in the area wanted to remove him but all agreed he should leave, they freared his power. But not Fern. Almost as soon as hearing the widows plea did she organize a party to remove the Saddam supporter from the widows land. She even obtained a bulldozer to demolish his home that stood on the land of the widows. Her amazing actions helped to establish the rights guarenteed by democracy in Iraq.     Fern's unwavering dedication to the improvement of the lives of the weak, even giving up oppertunities to become a prosperous and prestigious lawyer, show how much faith she put into her work. She gave up everything she had in order to allow her to accomplish good for other people. She was offered great jobs in the highest positions but turned them down in order to help others. She neglected her own career, family, and her life to fight for other people. Her faith was not caused by her belief in her work but by her dedication to her work. Of course she believed her work would help other people, but that was not her faith, that was something she knew because of reason. She had faith that she could improve the lives of people all over the world and she completely dedicated herself to that cause. Fern showed her faith through her dedication, like how St. Francis of Assisi gave up all his possesions to the poor to find a spiritual enlightenment. She helped serve the weak just like a saint would or should, giving up all she had, working for justice, and loving others, and there is no such thing as a saint without faith so therefore she must have faith. She believed that a country of women who were treated under the worst conditions of mental oppression could eventually recognize and understand their political and social rights. It would be unreasonalbe to think that after an entire existance of constant oppression that one person in one year could change the perspective of an entire nation but Fern knew she could. She did not think she could, because in thought there is doubt, but knowing is deffinate and she knew she could. Even if she had to do it one at a time little by little she would break down the oppressive society that was created by a totalitarian culture.

References

1)Martinelli, Debra Levy. Summer 2004. "Sooner Magazine"-Fern Holland. http://www.oufoundation.org/sm/summer2004/story.asp.Id=117 2)Robsinson, Judy Gibbs. April 2004. "The Oklahoman"-Fern Holland-Stories. http://fernholland.newsok.com/?fern_stories 3)Rubin, Elizabeth. September 9, 2004. "New York Times"- Fern Holland's War. http://www.psychoanalystsopposewar.org/resources_files/Fern_Hollands_war.html

If you have questions or comments please email them to nearsightedninja@gmail.com    Thank you!

Links

Fern Holland Charitalbe Foundation Fern Holland Web Page