Clark University - Clark News fall 2005
Making a statement on two wheels (fall 2005)
Clark researcher and alumna participates in Follow the Women ride for peace across the Middle East
By Judith Jaeger
For Octavia Taylor M.A. '93, the simple act of pedaling a bike has been forever transformed into a symbol of peace and solidarity.
Taylor, who is a researcher at Clark's George Perkins Marsh Institute, was one of 250 women from more than 30 countries to participate in the Follow the Women bike ride across the Middle East. The ride was held from Sept. 15 to 25 and went from Beirut, Lebanon, to Damascus, Syria, and Amman, Jordan. Those not hindered by travel restrictions continued to Ramallah in the West Bank to visit a counseling center for women and children that was established with the funds raised from the first Follow the Women ride in April 2004, in which more than 230 women rode a different route through the same countries and cities.
Taylor was one of two women from the United States who participated in the 2004 ride and served as U.S. country coordinator for the seven American women who participated this year. Tayl or admits that while a group of 250 women riding bikes may not seem very striking or consequential to some, you must remember where the ride is taking place.
"You don't see women riding bikes outside in the Middle East the way we do here," says Taylor, who adds that half of the participants are from the Middle East and, before the 2004 ride, many had never been on a bike. They cannot ride the streets to train, she says, but rent stadiums to prepare for the 30-mile days that the ride requires.
"And maybe in times like this you need to do something that gets a little attention," Taylor says.
Activism meets bicycle
Taylor first heard about the ride while visiting Jordan in 2003, shortly after the start of the war in Iraq. Her husband was attending a conference and they had arranged to do some volunteer work for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization. Through their voluntee r work, Taylor met the country organizer for the 2004 Follow the Women ride. It had obvious appeal for Taylor, a longtime, ardent peace activist who can trace her activism back to before she was born. Taylor's parents grew up in Czechoslovakia, and when the Nazis took over the country, her father landed in a concentration camp for speaking out against the regime.
"The country was overrun, and many people were afraid and remained silent," she says. "I've always felt that silence is a kind of collusion."
Discussing the ride, Taylor also recalled her childhood, growing up in France and watching the Tour de France whiz by for the first time.
"It seemed like these two pieces of my life coming together into one event," she says.
Taylor was amazed by her experience on the 2004 ride. While never fearful of traveling in the Middle East, she was still astounded by the warm welcome the women received, especially in Syria, which has a somewhat checkered r eputation in the United States.
"Hundreds and hundreds of people lined the streets," Taylor says, adding that half of the highway leading into Damascus had been closed for the cyclists, and spectators threw flowers in their path. They had the best food, accommodations and entertainment, she says. "It was quite an incredible display."
The power of women
In August, Taylor was hoping for a similar experience on her second tour with Follow the Women and struggling to train in the unusually hot and humid weather. Her training consists of riding around the block—although she qualifies that by explaining that she lives in New Braintree, Mass., a picturesque rural town in which a block is about 10 miles. On weekends, she does a 30-mile ride and also rides to and from work on cooler days. Taylor's office is on the third floor of the Marsh Institute, so she makes extra trips up and down the stairs to supplemen t her training.
But Taylor isn't so interested in discussing her training. She'd rather talk about how women can influence the course of history by calling attention to social injustice. She talks about the Women in Black in Israel, the Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina, and how women helped bring about the Good Friday Peace Accord in Northern Ireland.
"Since the bombings in London have occurred, it's more important than ever to come together," she says. "I do think that women can make a difference that people at the bargaining table, or who won't come to the bargaining table, can't achieve."
Octavia Taylor is the program manager for the Marsh Institute's Community-Based Hazards Management Program. She is the principal investigator on two grants that address risks and uncertainties experienced by community groups located near Department of Energy nuclear weapons facilities. As part of that work, she is leading the effort to review, analyze and d isseminate comprehensible information on the health effects of low-level ionizing radiation to community members who face ongoing risks from radiological contamination. She also works closely with professors Tim Downs and Laurie Ross on the NIEHS project "Strengthening Vulnerable Communities in the Worcester Built Environment."
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