Edgecomb resident Rebecca Graham has announced a human rights celebration will be held in December in Brunswick and on the Lewiston-Auburn USM campus. Graham is the co-coordinator of the event.

The event is the result of several groups working together, including the University of Southern Maine's International Student Organization of Lewiston-Auburn, students in the course "Global Past, Global Present;" Bates College (with assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities); and the Maine Holocaust & Human Rights Center.

The focus will be on the Chechen people, who are still caught between warring factions. Echoes of their situation are found in Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan and many other countries. With homes destroyed, schools bombed, and hospitals struggling to maintain public health, the Chechens find themselves having nowhere to turn for assistance in a country devastated by conflict. Books about Chechnya can be found at the USM/L-A campus bookstore at 51 Westminster Street in Lewiston and at the Bates College bookstore.

In the week leading up to this event, a series of activities will held at the Frontier Cafe in the Fort Andros mill building in Brunswick. Throughout this week, literature, music, poetry, artwork, and photographs of the Caucasus will be on display, along with someone to take donations of down or fiberfill clothing to be sent to Chechnya.

Two films will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 7 - "Power Trip," a 2003 U.S. documentary on the privitization of electricity in Georgia, and the short Russian creative film, Ботинок ("The Shoe"). Two other films will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 8 - the Russian feature film, Кавказский пленник ("Prisoner of the Caucasus") and the Chechen documentary film, Плачущее

солнце ("Crying Sun"). A reading of Chechen poetry will precede each film.

On Tuesday, December 11, a special guest speaker, Dr. Khassan Baiev, a surgeon during the First and Second Chechen Wars, will discuss his experience during this dark period of history. Dr. Baeiv is the author of "The Oath, A Surgeon Under Fire," and will illuminate the little known culture of the Chechen people, whose lives have been overshadowed by this calamity. Dr. Baiev's work now focuses on helping children of Chechnya - the real hope for tomorrow, which has led to his establishment of the International Committee for the Defense of the Children of Chechnya (www. chechenchildren.org/index.html).

The events will begin on December 11 at 9 a.m. at USM's Lewiston campus with coffee, conversation, and films focusing on the Chechen region. Hosted by anthropologist Mark Silber, the movies will include the Russian feature film, Дом дураков ("House of Fools"); the short creative film, Ботинок ("The Shoe"); and the Chechen documentary film, Плачущее

солнце ("Crying Sun").

From 11 to 11:30 a.m. there will be Chechen poetry read by internationally acclaimed poet Gary Lawless. Following the readings, a pot-luck lunch will be offered, so (bring foods to share with Dr. Baiev.) Dr. Baiev will speak again at USM-LA from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and then will join a discussion panel on scholarship and human rights that features USM President Joseph Wood, Provost Mark Lapping, Assistant Provost Judy Tizon, and Russell Chair Professor George Caffentzis.

Dr. Baeiv will speak again in the evening, from 7 to 8 p.m., at Bates College in the Carnegie Science Building, Room # 204.

Copies of Dr. Baiev's book will be available throughout the event, tables for human rights organizations and their representatives will be set up, and artwork will be on display. Organizers encourage people to bring an article of fiber-filled or down-filled clothing of any size (plus $5 per pound to pay for shipping) to send to the Committee for the Defense of Forced Refugees in Chechnya. For more information, please contact Rebecca Graham, Kris McClure, or Dr. Barry H. Rodrigue at USM/L-A at 752-6574, Dr. Jane Costlow at Bates College at 786-6289, or the Frontier Cafe at 725-5222.