EMPATHY Nous sommes l'un l'autre.

Omar, an Iraqi citizen living in the U.S., proudly displays his country's flag, moments after voting in Iraq's parliamentary election, at an overseas polling site (March 7, 2010, in Arlington, Virginia). He offered the following comments about the election:

Q: So, we're here with Omar. You drove nine hours from Boston, just to vote?
Exactly.
Q: What does this election mean to you?
It means a lot because this is going to decide if the country will improve the situation or, God forbid, will be sinking in troubles and problems. So, it will decide the future of Iraqis--our future, our children's future, the long term future.
Q: What candidate(s) do you support?
Unfortunately I can't expose this, but I know what I did. I made a good decision and I believe in this candidate, definitely.
Q: Are you hopeful for the future of your country?
Absolutely. No doubt. I am definitely hopeful. We came from a different city. I was e-mailing people. I did some ads on Facebook, other e-mails, just to push people to go and give their vote. It's very important to the country, to themselves, and to the nation.
Q: There's been so much division in the region. Are you hopeful that people can come together through democracy and cooperation for the betterment of everyone?
Absolutely. I have a big hope that everyone will get together in the end. It's just temporary. I believe from now until like five years you will see a lot of big changes.
Q: What is the key to that better world?
I think people should leave their religion, they should leave their thoughts, they should leave everything aside and they have to think about the nation. There is no difference between Sunni, Shia, Kurds, Christian, Muslims, Arab, the minorities in Iraq. Everyone should be united. We have to get together to be free and united.
Q: Have you discussed with Iraqis from other groups about the election and ways to find common ground?
Absolutely. We have been debating with each other since some time, finding out who will be the best representative, the best candidates to represent Iraqis and Iraq around the world and we believe in certain people. We believe in them. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, they won't fail us.

Canadian hockey fans display their colors in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia.


A candle burns at a makeshift shrine in honor of Georgian olympic luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, February 13, 2010, in Whistler, British Columbia. Kumaritashvili perished in a training accident at the Whistler olympic luge track one day earlier. He was 21 years old.


An inukshuk statue stands atop Whistler Mountain, site of the 2010 winter olympic alpine skiing events (February 13, 2010, in Whistler, British Columbia). These statues were developed by the Inuit people and serve as trail and directional markers.


As the XXI Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver draw near, the United Nations and the Olympic Movement are once again calling for a worldwide cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Games. -- U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Olympic rings illuminate the Burrard Inlet, February 8, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia. The five rings represent the world's five continents (excluding Antarctica).


A white-tailed deer forages in the snow, January 31, 2010, in Washington, DC.


Urgent help is needed in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Please donate now to the American Red Cross, Oxfam, or other relief organizations.

L'empathie fait l'union.

Rhonda and Carla, seventh graders from Washington Latin Charter Public School, spend their Saturday afternoon selling donuts to raise money for Haitian earthquake survivors, outside the Woodley Park metro station (January 23, 2010, in Washington, DC). The two volunteered as part of the Young Heroes program, organized by corps members from City Year, which offers leadership development and community service opportunities to middle school age children in 18 different U.S. cities and in South Africa.

Historical Actor Azania Dungee holds a protest sign in front of a once-segregated Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth's lunch counter, on exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (January 18, 2010, in Washington, DC). In commemoration of the U.S. holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the museum invited visitors to participate in a re-enactment of a famous sit-in at the same lunch counter that was an important milestone in the U.S. civil rights movement.
Historical actor Azania Dungee holds a protest sign in front of a once-segregated Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth's lunch counter, on exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (January 18, 2010, in Washington, DC). In commemoration of the U.S. holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the museum invited visitors to participate in a re-enactment of a famous sit-in at the same lunch counter that was an important milestone in the U.S. civil rights movement.

According to the exhibit, on February 1, 1960, four African American students from North Carolina A&T State University walked into the F. W. Woolworth store in Greensboro, NC, and attempted to order food at the store's lunch counter, which they knew had been designated as being for white people only. After they were refused service, the students, David L. Richmond, Franklin E. McCain, Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now known as Jibreel Khazan), and Joseph A. McNeil, remained in their seats, in protest. The demonstration continued the following day and for six more months, thereafter, with the support and participation of hundreds of other students, and community and church members, with sit-ins at the Greensboro lunch counter as well as at simultaneous sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in fifty-four cities in nine states. On July 25, 1960, in response to the protests, the Greensboro Woolworth's store finally desegregated its lunch counter. Four years later (and one year after Dr. King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington), President Lyndon B. Johnson would sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting racial segregation in public accommodations, as well as employment.

Greater Washington Haiti Relief Committee (GWHRC) member, Magalie Emile, joins in prayer at a candle light vigil outside the Embassy of Haiti, January 13, 2010, in Washington, DC. GWHRC is coordinating Washington-area relief efforts with the embassy and organized the vigil, one day after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation.
Greater Washington Haiti Relief Committee (GWHRC) member, Magalie Emile, joins in prayer at a candle light vigil outside the Embassy of Haiti, January 13, 2010, in Washington, DC. GWHRC is coordinating Washington-area relief efforts with the embassy and organized the vigil, one day after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation.

His Excellency, Haitian Ambassador Raymond Joseph addresses the crowd.
His Excellency, Haitian Ambassador Raymond Joseph addresses the crowd.

GWHRC Chair, Albert Decady, discusses the tragedy and the urgent need for assistance from the international community.
GWHRC Chair, Albert Decady, discusses the tragedy and the urgent need for assistance from the international community.

Mourners light candles outside the Embassy of Haiti, January 13, 2010, in Washington, DC.
Mourners light candles outside the Embassy of Haiti, January 13, 2010, in Washington, DC.

Votive candles left on a ledge in front of the Embassy of Haiti in Washington, DC. January 13, 2010.
Votive candles left on a ledge in front of the Embassy of Haiti in Washington, DC. January 13, 2010.



But it would make a very long story, indeed, if I were to try to tell every experience of even one little snowflake or drop of dew. I only know this: new and strange things are certain to have happened to it in new and strange ways, but whatever happened, it was never lost; it never died; it was only changed.
-- from "The Little Servants of the Sea," by Alice W. Rollins (1892)

Snowflake crystals (100x), December 19, 2009 in Washington, DC. The city was blanketed by more than 16 inches of snow, a record for December.

Freedom, with a Ring

Members of the District of Columbia City Council look on as Mayor Adrian Fenty signs into law The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009. The law establishes that "marriage between two people in the District of Columbia shall not be denied or limited on the basis of gender." (At the same time, it protects the religious freedom of clergy from being compelled to solemnize a marriage.) The ceremony was held at All Souls Unitarian Church, December 18, 2009 in Washington, DC.

The National Christmas Tree, moments after being lit for the first time by President Barack Obama, December 3, 2009, in Washington, DC.

First Lady Michelle Obama reads "The Night Before Christmas" to a group of young children onstage at The Ellipse, December 3, 2009, in Washington, DC.


President Barack Obama shares a hug with Santa, at the conclusion of the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. December 3, 2009. Washington, DC.



Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, presents a slide on the stages of HIV infection at a World AIDS Day program on HIV Vaccine Research, December 1, 2009, in Washington, DC. The event was organized by the Capital Area AIDS Vaccine Effort.
An audience member answers how he is fighting back against HIV/AIDS on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2009, in Washington, DC.
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