Burning Man Vs. Superstorm Sandy

Union Beach, New Jersey, like much of the state, is a mess thanks to Superstorm Sandy. Its residents who are sticking it out and hoping to rebuild have to figure out a way to clear their lots of debris and condemned structures. Regular relief groups don’t provide aid for this kind of work, and contractors aren’t going to cut a break for flood victims. It has left an altruistic void, one that has been filled by a bunch of people who every year head out to the middle of a desert in Nevada to do a bunch of drugs, dress up like gay aliens, and light a bunch of shit on fire. 

Yes, a small group of Burning Man enthusiasts have rapidly formed what appears to be an extremely efficient charitable organization that helps people in ways more bureaucratic organizations can’t. 

Continue

Wijbe Abma Started a Charity in a Syrian War Zone

Kilis, like most border towns, feels like a bastardized, slightly less-racist Wild West: gossip spreads, people pass through, supplies (legal and otherwise) are bought and sold. In this particular border town, however, it feels like that sense of transit is more tangible than in most. Kilis, in southern Turkey, is the gateway to Aleppo, a key battleground in the ongoing conflict in Syria and one of the oldest cities in the world. Unfortunately, with fighting normally including stuff like shells, explosions, and carnage, a good deal of old Aleppo is being devastated.

This border town is also the home of Wijbe Abma, a 21-year-old “freelance” aid worker. He runs Don’t Forget Syria, an idea that started small and has snowballed to a size the founder is not quite comfortable with. It’s one man’s plan to bring aid directly to civilians within war-torn Aleppo. On his first run, he gave out 100 blankets, but his idea was picked up by the press, donations flooded in, and he now has $17,200 burning a hole in his PayPal account, a logistical clusterfuck to untangle, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) trying to sell him flour.

A few months ago Wijbe was a regular student, traveling home from a year of teaching, drinking shochu, and banging out karaoke in South Korea when he found himself in Antakya in southern Turkey, now home to thousands of Syrians. Here a Syrian man from Aleppo told him about his son who’d been killed by regime shelling. They talked about his troubles and what was left of his city. Like many Syrians, confused and angered by the lack of international assistance, he asked: “Why won’t anyone help?” Wijbe decided to stop partying and do something.

Wijbe selecting blankets.

“It started very small,” he says. “I decided to do myself what all of the NGOs had talked about, but none actually seemed to be doing.” The idea was simple; he would walk across the border at Kilis to the makeshift camps in Syria with a couple of blankets in a rucksack, give them out to those in need, and keep traveling.

On arrival, he realized the problem was larger than he’d initially thought. The camp was dismissive and Wijbe began to feel powerless when it became apparent that no one would allow him to choose who to help. That autonomy is something Wijbe takes seriously. “More important than aid that helps is aid that doesn’t harm. The only way you know someone isn’t taking it all and selling it for weapons is to do it yourself,” he said.

Motivated, he left and founded his own aid project, committing $920 of his savings for the first 100 blankets. A Syrian friend tells me he originally bought one and slept under it for a night to test it. He caught a cold for a week, threw it out and found thicker, warmer blankets. With the help of Syrian civilians he took the blankets to Aleppo and went door to door. Each blanket came with a letter, in Arabic, explaining that it came from an individual with a desire to help and show that someone cared. On the way back their car had a dozen rounds fired at it from a nearby army base, which is a novel way of saying thank you.

Fred Sasaki Tried to Get Boston University to Build a Statue in His Honor

The following correspondence is from a manuscript of emails titled “Letters of Interest,” by Fred Sasaki. Subjects arise from spam and angst, anger and absurdity, frustration and fuckall—Eros and Thanatos from inbox to inbox. Enter to witness non-consensual collaborative narrative.

[We have left the following emails unedited in the interest of full disclosure and larfs—Ed.]

Boston University Alumni Update
24 Messages

________________________

From: Kean, Steve <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>
To: Fred Sasaki <xxxxxxxx@gmail.com>, “Allenby, Daniel E” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>
Cc: “Sacks, Benjamin E” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>, “Rodriguez, Stephen M” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>
Date: Thu, Dec 22, 2011 at 1:54 PM

Fred,

Thank you much for your inquiry and your interest in making BU a part of your estate planning! Before we get to that step, I would affirm your desire to meet and discuss this with your family. Identifying the items and the recipients in the will is a wise first step.

Once you’ve detailed the items and recipients, the next logical step is to think about an appraisal. In terms of tax/estate implications, the IRS generally requires an appraisal for all material gifts in excess of $5,000. This is of clear benefit to your family and to any institution that you would make gifts to now, or with your estate.

With an understanding of your collection and its value, it would then be worthwhile to begin a conversation with you about ways in which your collection might benefit BU. I’m not aware of any faculty doing research or teaching on numismatics, nor can we predict the future likelihood of such a faculty endeavor. So my advice would be to begin thinking about how your artifacts might potentially translate into a “Fred Sasaki Fund” (or some other designation that properly captures your connection and passion for BU). It would be a joy to dialogue with you about what a “Sasaki Fund” might look like and what you might like it to achieve.

Thanks again for taking the first step in reaching out to us. I look forward to continuing this discussion.

Happy holidays and best wishes for the new year.
Steve

Steve Kean
Chief Advancement Officer
College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University
595 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 700
Boston, MA 02215

Support BU today – https://www.bu.edu/giving

________________________

From: Fred Sasaki <xxxxxxxx@gmail.com>
To: “Kean, Steve” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>
Cc: “Allenby, Daniel E” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>, “Sacks, Benjamin E” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>, “Rodriguez, Stephen M” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>
Date: Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 12:47 PM

Hi Daniel, Benjamin, Stephen, Everyone,

It has been a long holiday, and my legacy conversations were met with high emotions, low expectations, and tears as usual. Apparently my family does not appreciate me in certain ways. For example, the only thing they gave me was a bottle of Johnny Walker Black, which is good whiskey, but also depressing. Speaking of which, I first heard of Johnny Walker at Boston University, between you, me, and the birds!

Seriously, everything I have I will leave to Boston University, I guess. (Actually, I did receive for Christmas my grandfather’s old tailor scissors that he also used to clips his nose hairs and my grandmother’s old knife, that she used to cut things with. Those I’m keeping.) I will write out an itemized list of things for you all. Divide them as you like. Will you need photo documentation, too? I will accompany the list with an appraisal, of course.

Also, I like the idea of establishing a “Fred Sasaki Fund.” Very much. Let’s do that.

I’ll send the list tonight unless I fall asleep early, which has been a problem lately. So let me know about the photos, etc.

Thanks for being there in this time of decision.

Gratefully,
Fred

________________________

From: Kean, Steve <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>
To: Fred Sasaki <xxxxxxxx@gmail.com>, “Holland, Lindsay C” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>
Cc: “Allenby, Daniel E” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>, “Sacks, Benjamin E” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>, “Rodriguez, Stephen M” <xxxxxxxx@bu.edu>
Date: Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 3:24 PM

Happy New Year Fred and thanks again for your desire to support BU with your ultimate estate gift.

At this point, please allow me to introduce Lindsay Holland. Lindsay works in our Planned Giving division (and she visits the Chicago area from time to time as well) and she will be able to walk you through the next steps of the planned giving process.

In terms of the “Fred Sasaki Fund,” that is a conversation that Lindsay can start with you after we have a better impression of the magnitude of your ultimate gift. For your information, we currently have two different gift minimum levels: an endowment requires a $100,000 gift, and it then produces annual revenue (currently 4%) for use according to the donor’s intent; and an expendable fund requires a $10,000 gift, again, spent according to the donor’s intent, but typically used in a short period of time.

Thanks again for your interest. And I hope to be able to visit with you in the future.

With regards,
Steve