“Everybody deserves to be beautiful,” and beauty is what you will see in the contestants of the Miss Landmine Angola 2008. Although the competition has received some criticism, I think their manifesto indicates that the organizers’ hearts are in the right place. From the website:

* Female pride and empowerment.

* Disabled pride and empowerment.

* Global and local landmine awareness and information.

* Challenge inferiority and/or guilt complexes that hinder creativity- historical, cultural, social, personal, African, European.

* Question established concepts of physical perfection.

* Challenge old and ingrown concepts of cultural cooperation.

* Celebrate true beauty.

* Replace the passive term ‘Victim’ with the active term ‘Survivor’

All contestants will receive assistance from the government, and the winner will receive a custom made prosthesis from Norway. Contestants also may have the opportunity to act as representative in their own province, to spread awareness and support for other women survivors, and monitor methods of empowerment such as specialized health care and education.

One of the things that really struck me, when clicking on the contestants profiles, was that underneath their favorite colors and dream jobs, were listed the countries of origin of the mines that maimed them (most of them as children). It’s horrific to me that these things are being manufactured and sold. I’m grateful that there are countries and organizations that are now working to rectify some of the damage that is being created.

Tomorrow, April 4 ‘08 is National Landmine Awareness Day. Find more information on mine action at this site.

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