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Art Relief International
We believe in the transforming power of art to heal global ills.
Art Relief Internationl is dedicated to raising public awareness
through the artistic expression of Joe and Jenny Smith.
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| "Gordon" by Joe Smith |
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| When Gordon, a WWII Veteran and retired farmer, was first brought to the hospital he was homeless and disoriented. Once hydrated and given necessary nourishment Gordon was able to reveal that he had been, like so many others, seriously taken advantage of and abused. Born in 1921, Gordon served 15 years in the US military. He was honorably discharged with numerous awards and medals including the purple heart and battle field commission. Upon discharge he moved to Illinois, married Carol and began farming his family farm. Gordon and Carol were married 35 years until her passing in 1991. They did not have children. After Carol's passing, Gordon moved to Florida. He found himself alone and vulnerable. He fell prey to TV evangelists who milked Gordon for thousands of dollars. At the same time, his health began to deteriorate and London's world was on the verge of collapse. As his mental status declined, he got on a bus to Washington D.C. to speak with our government about what had happened to him. He had been sleeping in a park two blocks from the White House for three months.
SOLD
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| "Gordon" by Joe Smith |
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Before I was abducted, I was a happy school boy, I had five sisters and one brother. When I and my brother were abducted, I knew exactly what was going to happen to us: we used to hear about the LRA in the village, about how they abduct and torture children. They trained us as soldiers. I was in so many battles. I don’t even remember the number. My brother was killed in a battle three weeks ago. One boy tried to escape but he was caught. His hands were tied and then they made us kill him with a stick. I knew the boy from before; we were from the same village. I refused to do it and they told me they would shoot me. They pointed a gun at me, so I had to do it . . . I see him in my dreams and he is saying I killed him for nothing, and I am crying.
— Kadogo, 12-years-old
For 20 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been terrorizing communities in northern Uganda in a brutal civil war. The LRA has abducted more than 25,000 children and terrorized them at the clandestine bases into virtual slaves as guards, concubines, and soldiers. In addition to being beaten, raped, and forced to march until exhaustion, abducted children are routinely forced to participate in the killing of other children who attempt to escape.
$400
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| "Kodogo" by Joe Smith |
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| "Jasmine" by Joe Smith |
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| "When the mayi-mayi attacked my village, we all ran away. In our flight, the soldiers captured all the girls, even the very young. Once with the soldiers, you were forced to "marry" one of the soldiers. Whether he was as old as your father or young, bad or nice, you had to accept. If you refused, they would kill you. This happened to one of my friends. They would slaughter people like chickens. They would not even bury the bodies they slaughtered...I even saw a girl who refused to be "married"being tortured...
–Jasmine, a 16-year-old girl who was recruited by the mayi-mayi armed group in South Kivu when she was 12. She now has a four-month-old baby.
$400
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| "Eva" by Joe Smith |
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| "Eva" by Joe Smith |
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