All posts by CPNN Coordinator

About CPNN Coordinator

Dr David Adams is the coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, proclaimed for the Year 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly.

Colombia: Processes of pardon and reconciliation in the Magdalena Centro Department

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An article from the Magdalena Centro Development Program for Peace (translated by CPNN)

The Development Program for Peace of Magdalena Centro (PDPMC), now in its eleventh year of management in the territory, has focused its institutional capacity to favor scenarios that seek the construction of peace from different spheres, involving all the people. With them, strategies and work dynamics have been developed with the aim of promoting the recovery of the trust, networks and social fabrics that were broken down by the violence that they had to suffer.

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In this way, the PDPMC in coordination with the Foundation for Reconciliation, dynamizes in the territory the Schools of Pardon and Reconciliation (ESPERE), helping participants reinterpret the painful events that have limited the enjoyment of their lives, so that they can overcome the suffering and the painful memory of what happened.

The strategies of ESPERE are key elements that seek to rescue the individual from their pain, to restore security and confidence in themselves and in their relationships with others. This exercise also seeks to build capacities and to form “Leaders animators” in the territory who can then promote a political culture of pardon and reconciliation.

These exercises allow them to go forward in their process of overcoming the violent past to the point of feeling and calling themselves victorious; It provides needed support that can serve as a first impulse, contributing a grain of sand, so that they can overcome and then contribute from the Magdalena Centro to the construction of peace in Colombia.

The goal is that the people can involve strategies of pardon and reconciliation as elements of their life, understanding that if they are promoted as ways of living, they will humanize the everyday acts of people, valuing and seeking primarily the preservation of life.

As an end result, the PDPMC has the firm hope and confidence of not hearing more stories of violence; always with the conviction that peace is better than war, as well as dialog and the collective construction of solutions to the natural confrontations of people, recognizing that human processes build on differences to develop individual and collective relations.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article

Question related to this article:
FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Colombia: Juntos por la Paz, the youth collective that dialogues about peace in the Department of Cesar

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An article from El País Vallenat (translated by CPNN)

85 students from eight public educational institutions in La Jagua de Ibirico, Becerril and El Paso and two corregimientos, La Victoria de San Isidro and La Loma, held the 2016 closing event of the collective Juntos por La Paz, an initiative of the Prodeco Group that trains young students in peace issues in the context of the Colombia Postconflict peace process.

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The closing event of the year was held at the auditorium Centro Virtua of La Jagua de Ibirico, and was attended by young students and the presence of Amaury Padilla, director of the Development and Peace Program of Cesar, who was in charge of a workshop on care and self-care in peacebuilding.

Throughout the year, students were formed into working groups for the production of a radio program to combat disinformation about the process of Peace Talks held between the FARC-EP and the National Government and to promote values ​​for peace.

In total, 20 radio programs were produced. They were broadcast on Energy 96.7 and half of these (10) in Caracol Radio Valledupar. For this, it was necessary to consult more than 15 sources of information, including Governors, Mayors; Representatives of National and Local Government and professionals in different social areas, such as psychologists, pedagogues and teachers. In their work as program reporters, a total of 25 interviews were conducted.

The students also held two days of reading and studying the first final agreement between the National Government of Colombia and the FARC EP. This promoted responsible and informed voting on the referendum.

Thanks to their participation in the group, the young people started activities to promote healthy coexistence inside and outside their educational institution, activities that included civic marches, socialization meetings with adults and parents and play for children.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article

Question related to this article:
FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Colombia: Creating a model of Territorial Peace in the Valle del Cauca, supported by the United Nations

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An article from the website of the Government of the Cauca Valley (translated by CPNN)

The United Nations and the Government of the Valley, have made final adjustments to what will be the territorial peace model in the Department, which is a joint commitment of the Governor, Dilian Francisca Toro and this international body.

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During a meeting between representatives of the United Nations Development Program and the work team of the Secretariat of Peace of the Valley, headed by Fabio Cardozo, defined the criteria to develop programs and actions to be implemented within the component of Territorial peace, to be executed through a $ 6 million agreement, provided by the Department and UNDP.

Irina Marún Meyer, coordinator of territorial projects of the United Nations, highlighted the institutional work that will be done in municipalities and productive projects with victims of the armed conflict. She explained that “we are going to consolidate the Municipal Peace Councils, the Municipal Councils of Transitional Justice and the bodies that must be strengthened to form the network of peacebuilding strategy at the municipal level. Also we are identifying and characterizing organizations of victims that have a potential to develop productive projects “.

On the other hand, Mauricio Cas, UNDP territorial peace adviser, emphasized the institutional commitment of the Governor, Dilian Francisca Toro, to elevate the former Ministry of Peace of the Valley to the Secretariat, within the new organic composition of the Department.

“It seems to me a very important gesture of the Governor and the Departmental Government that will allow the Department to assume the commitment of the state in the face of the problem of victims and other types of problems arising from the situation of armed conflict,” said Cas.

On this issue, Secretary of Peace Fabio Cardozo said that “this strengthens our dialogue with communities, with institutions and with mayors.”

Considering the Territorial Peace initiative, he said that “it is one of the pillars of the Development Plan and has a strategy for investment, social, cultural processes, infrastructure and work articulated with the mayors.”

The Development Plan is the mandate that the Vallecaucans gave to the Governor, Dilian Francisca Toro, where attention to the victims is a priority. ” The United Nations Development Program and works for peace in 177 countries and territories and one of them will be the Valle del Cauca.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article

Question related to this article:
FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Antioquia, Colombia: Young people united by a Territorial Peace!

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An article from the Fundación Mi Sangre (translated by CPNN)

We welcome our new project “Young Builders of a Territorial Peace” supported by the Ford Foundation and executed by the Prodepaz Corporation, which will last for 3 years. Twenty municipalities of Antioquia will be part of this initiative which will empower young people as agents of change to actively contribute to the construction of a Territorial Peace.

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The municipalities that are part of the project are: In Zona Bosques; Cocorná, San Francisco, San Luis and Puerto Triunfo; In Zona Paramo; Sonsón, Algeria and Nariño; in Zona Porce Nus; Maceo, Caracolí, San Roque and Santo Domingo; and in the Zona Altiplano; Rionegro, La Unión, La Ceja, El Retiro, Carmen de Viboral, El Peñol, Concepción and San Vicente.

The purpose is to train 848 young people, 90 significant adults and 240 boys and girls. Participants will strengthen their leadership skills, through our PAZalobien Change Leadership methodology, and likewise receive knowledge for working in organizations. Young people will not only be trained to be leaders, but also trainers, since the idea is for them to replicate what they have learned in the methodology with the children of their municipalities. They will also learn about issues of digital communication and citizen journalism that will allow them to recognize problems in their territories and influence through alternative communication tools and the Network of Young Peace Builders.

At present, there have been closer ties with social organizations, youth secretaries, educational institutions, and public and private entities. 15 youth groups are already working on the methodology and are carrying out diagnoses of their territories.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article

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FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Mexico: Sixteenth National Congress of Mediation inaugurated in Tlalnepantla

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Cadena Política (translated by CPNN)

Tlalnepantla, Mexico.- At the inauguration of the XVI National Congress of Mediation, Mayor Denisse Ugalde Alegría reiterated the commitment that her 2016-2018 administration has to consolidate Tlalnepantla as a municipality with a culture of peace and in this way prevent violence and crime .

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Addressing the national and international speakers who gathered at the Centennial Theater, the mayor affirmed that it is essential that local governments make mediation and conciliation a public policy in order to confront the speeches of hatred, conflict, intolerance and aggressiveness that day by day gain ground on a global level.

“It is in the municipalities where the real transformations that the country requires are achieved, which is why from the beginning of this administration we have worked to promote mediation as an alternative way of solving conflicts, aiming at achieving our objective,” she said. She thanked Jorge Pesqueira Leal, president of the Institute of Mediation of Mexico, for allowing Tlalnepantla to host this congress in which for four days specialists in the subject exchange experiences that contribute to a culture of peace.

Denisse Ugalde recalled that this municipality arose originally from the conciliation of two cultures, and that continue to work daily work on this matter. Proof of this is that so far this year more than 1,300 people have been trained in courses to have the basic tools to be conciliators and to resolve conflicts peacefully in their communities.

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(click here for the Spanish version)

Question for this article:

Mediation as a tool for nonviolence and culture of peace

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For his part, Jorge Pesqueira acknowledged the efforts that the local government has made to establish the Municipal Public Mediation and Conciliation Center and thus to promote restorative justice among citizens.

He pointed out that this congress will be a space for the transmission of knowledge, reflection and, mainly, generation of ideas, which will contribute to boost the work that the municipal government carries out in this matter.

Carlos Preza Millán, State Undersecretary of Government, said that for the State of Mexico it is an honor that Tlalnepantla is the seat of this XVI National Congress, since this locality was a pioneer in creating the Municipal Mediation Center, in which alternative dispute resolution methods are applied. He stressed that Governor Eruviel Avila Villegas has a great interest in this matter, always thinking about the welfare of Mexicans and strengthening the rule of law.

Partipants in the inauguration included Sergio Javier Medina Peñaloza, president of the Judicial Power of the State of Mexico; Jorge Alberto Zorrilla, head of the Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration; as well as Jorge Armando Chávez Enríquez, head of Municipal Justice and executive coordinator of the Congress. The authorities awarded the Medal of Peace and Concord to Martha Camargo, a judge of the Judiciary.

During the first day of work, Mayor Denisse Ugalde, Jorge Pesqueira and Lina Paola Rondón, adviser to the Presidential Adviser for Human Rights of Colombia, participated as speakers at the conference “Community mediation: Citizen Empowerment in Social Pacification and Prevention”.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Bernard LaFayette Jr. Wins Gandhi Award

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from The Skanner written by University Press of Kentucky

University Press of Kentucky author Bernard LaFayette Jr., whose memoir In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma was released in paperback earlier this year, has been awarded the 2016 Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace. He is also co-editor of The Chicago Freedom Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights Activism in the North.

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Bernard LaFayette Jr. stands with Martin Luther King Jr.

The award is presented by the Gandhi Development Trust: Promoting a culture of peace and non-violence . The GDT was founded in 2002 by Ela Gandhi, the social activist granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi. The Gandhi Development Trust’s mission is to promote a culture of peace, justice, non-violence, and ubuntu (human kindness); promoting Gandhian values of ahisma (non-violence), self-sufficiency, love, sarvodaya (good of all), compassion, and universality in order to reach their core vision of a peaceful, just, and non-violent world.

The Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace was established in 2003 to honor people who have surmounted religious and ethnic obstacles to promote democracy, peace, and justice through non-violent measures. GDT believes that the award should not merely be seen as an annual event, but rather a catalyst for initiating non-violence, ubuntu, and nation building under the influence of non-violent leaders.

LaFayette was chosen as this year’s winner in recognition of his outstanding work towards the promotion of peace, reconciliation, and justice both locally and internationally in his capacity as a civil rights activist.

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Questions for this article:

Can peace be guaranteed through nonviolent means?

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LaFayette’s memoir, In Peace and Freedom, recounts that career as an activist. He was a cofounder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a leader in the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins, a Freedom Rider, an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the national coordinator of the Poor People’s Campaign.

At the age of twenty-two, he assumed the directorship of the Alabama Voter Registration Project in Selma—a city that had previously been removed from the organization’s list due to the dangers of operating there.

LaFayette was one of the primary organizers of the 1965 Selma voting rights movement and the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, and his memoir, written with Kathryn Lee Johnson, shares the inspiring story of his struggles there.

When he arrived in 1963, Selma was a small, quiet, rural town. By 1965, it had made its mark in history and was nationally recognized as a battleground in the fight for racial equality and the site of one of the most important victories for social change in our nation.

The award was presented on November 7, 2016, in Durban, South Africa.

(Editor’s note: See also the recent CPNN article, Tucson students learn ‘non-violence’ way of life amidst anti-Trump protests and its reference to the National Kingian Nonviolence Network, which was founded by Bernard Lafayette.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, North America

Niger: Niamey opens a forum on the culture of peace through religious dialogue in the subregion

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article in Mali Actu (Source: Xinhua News Agency) (translation by CPNN)

Education for the culture of peace through intra and inter-religious dialogue is at the center of a forum of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since Tuesday in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, under the presidency of the Head of State of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou. This important meeting, which is in its first edition will last two days, welcomes the delegations of the 15 member countries of ECOWAS as well as important religious figures.

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Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou, Archive photo / REUTERS / Brian Snyder

According to President Mahamadou Issoufou, in his opening remarks, this forum comes at a time when the Sahelo-Saharan zone, notably the Lake Chad basin, faces terrorist threats. “In this region, people kill, rape and plunder in the name of Islam. Elsewhere, we are witnessing the exploitation of other religions for political, economic and social purposes, “he said.

In his opinion, it is therefore normal to promote education for the culture of peace through intra-and inter-religious dialogue in the ECOWAS region.

According to Nigeria’s Minister of Culture, Assoumana Malam Issa, the forum aims to guarantee the economic development and social integration of the fifteen member countries of ECOWAS, an area that today faces “political and social crises and tensions, both thnic and religious, that slow down the momentum in which this organization was launched.”

Several socio-cultural factors are at the root of the instability observed in the member states. They include “misunderstanding, interpreting and distorting precepts within religions, ignorance, injustice (real injustice or suspected), and mutual suspicion, as well as intolerance and extremism, the root causes of conflict.”

Thanks to the remarkable presence of the different religious confessions of the countries, it should be possible “to establish an interreligious dialogue, to bring about harmonious relations between the religions, to discuss the peaceful coexistence through the education of the faithful on the need to build a culture of peace, to inculcate in religious leaders a culture of interreligious dialogue of action in order to transform religious pluralism into a factor of social development “.

ECOWAS was established in 1975 to promote the socio-economic integration of States through the free movement of goods and persons. It comprises 15 member states namely Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Togo, Cape Verde , The Gambia, Guinea-Conakry, and Ghana.

(Click here for the original French version of this article)

Question related to this article:
Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Tucson students learn ‘non-violence’ way of life amidst anti-Trump protests

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article by Monica Grimaldo for Tucson News

A rash of nationwide protests against president-elect Donald Trump have brought out thousands of demonstrators and now, Tucson students between the ages of 11 and 16 are learning how to better understand the ‘nonviolence way of life’ to apply when planning action to defend human rights. Students from several Tucson school districts are participating in a two-day introduction to the Kingian Nonviolence training program, which aims to “institutionalize and internationalize nonviolence.”

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Clip from video on article website
Click on photo to enlarge

It’s being led by the Nonviolence Legacy Project, a youth leadership program affiliated with the Culture of Peace Alliance. “The workshop is particularly timely given that many people are taking to the streets and looking for ways to peacefully and powerfully indicate their concerns and fears about the upcoming administrative change,” said Ann Yellott with the Culture of Peace Alliance.

Participants are learning how to gain additional knowledge about how nonviolence was applied in several civil rights campaigns, including those seen in Montgomery, Nashville, Birmingham, and Selma.

“Helping our children be balanced and helping them to understand compassion for another, it’s not only a bullying issue, it’s a health issue,” said program manager Hassan Clement. “These kids are leaving a legacy for other kids.”

Sixteen-year-old Naomi Reyes, a student at Sunnyside High School, is one of the program’s participants and said she suffers from anger issues from time to time and hopes this program will help.

“There’s personal experience that involves violence and that’s another reason why I’m here,” said Reyes.

Caleb Bailey, 15, is a student at Cholla High School and says he wants to influence other students through this program. Though he wasn’t old enough to vote in this year’s election, it’s the lessons he’s learning that he hopes to keep forever.

“It can teach people how to get your word out without seeming like a thug or anti-Trump supporters or something,” he said. “It’s a way to articulate without seeming violent. Even though I’m young, I still think I can do something in the community. That’s what I really want to learn so when I get older, I know how to use nonviolence, and even now, so I can be a better person.”

For more information on the Culture of Peace Alliance’s Nonviolence Legacy Project, CLICK HERE.

Questions for this article:
EDUCATION FOR PEACE, North America

The struggle for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?


CPNN finds ample evidence that the fightback in the USA to defend peace and human rights is underway. It begins at the local level, as it must be if it is to be sustainable. And it is being led by young people and women, as it must be if it is to have the energy to succeed.

This question pertains to the following articles:

Rev. Al Sharpton: Jesse Jackson Helped Reshape Democratic Party & Paved Way for Kamala Harris

USA: Women Rally for Abortion Justice Amid ‘Unprecedented Attack’ on Reproductive Rights

58 Years After Historic Rally, Thousands March on Washington for Voting Rights, DC Statehood

USA: Exoneration of Scott Warren is a triumph for humanity

Ocasio-Cortez Delivers Powerful Call for Justice as Third Women’s March Kicks Off in New York

October 31, 2018: USA: Planned Parenthood Strikes Back: Preparing for the Worst in the Wake of Kavanaugh’s Confirmation

August 4, 2018: Teachers, activists denounce U.S. immigration policies, attempt to deliver books, toys to detained children

July 25, 2018: USA: A call to resist immigrant concentration camps

February 6, 2018: State Of The City: We’re The Resistance (New Haven, CT, USA)

January 20, 2018: Women’s March protests across America against President Trump

July 20, 2017: USA: Labor Unions Are Stepping Up To Fight Deportations

July 20, 2017: USA: People’s Congress of Resistance

June 26, 2017: U.S. Conference of Mayors Opposes Military-Heavy Trump Budget

June 15, 2017: USA: A Call to Mobilize the Nation through 2018

April 3, 2017: Sanctuary city leaders vow to remain firm, despite threats from U.S. attorney general

February 16, 2017: Restaurants Will Test If The U.S. Can Stomach ‘A Day Without Immigrants’

February 16, 2017: USA: Army veterans forming human shield to protect NoDAPL protesters at Standing Rock

February 3, 2017: A Call to Address Identity-based Violence through Teach-ins at American Universities [and around the World]

January 30, 2017: Donald Trump Declared War On ‘Sanctuary Cities.’ They’re Already Fighting Back

January 22, 2017: USA: Women’s marches fight back against inauguration of Trump

January 20, 2017: USA: Immigrants Prepped For Raids

December 9, 2016: USA: 13 Minnesota churches eye ‘underground railroad’ for those facing deportation

December 9, 2016: USA: Inside the Churches That Are Leading New York’s Sanctuary Movement

November 24, 2016: Tabling for peace in the USA: A new sense of urgency

November 24, 2016: Tucson students learn ‘non-violence’ way of life amidst anti-Trump protests

November 21, 2016: US Election: The fightback for human rights is already underway

November 21, 2016: USA: ’Sanctuary city’ mayors pledge to fight Trump’s threats to immigrants

November 20, 2016: USA: ‘Sanctuary campus’ protests demand universities protect immigrants

November 20, 2016: USA: To Counter Trump, Women Are Mobilizing for Massive March on Washington

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US Election: The fightback for human rights is already underway

…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….

A CPNN review

Americans (and the rest of the world as well) are deeply concerned for human rights in the wake of the election of Trump and his initial selection of cabinet officers and advisors. As expressed by the American Civil Liberties Union: Trump’s proposals “to amass a deportation force to remove 11 million undocumented immigrants; ban the entry of Muslims into our country and aggressively surveil them; punish women for accessing abortion; reauthorize waterboarding and other forms of torture; and change our nation’s libel laws and restrict freedom of expression . . . are not simply un-American and wrong-headed, they are unlawful and unconstitutional. They violate the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments.”

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An unofficial map shows locations of schools that students want designated as sanctuary campuses – from CNN

Already, there are plans for a massive march of women to take place in Washington on the day after the inauguration: “This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We will not rest until women have parity and equity at all levels of leadership in society. We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all.”

The human rights of undocumented immigrants are being defended by universities, cities and states. On Wednesday November 16, thousands of students staged walk-outs on over 80 campuses nationwide, signalling their commitment to maintain “sanctuary campuses” to protect immigrant students. At the same time, the mayors of the largest American cities pledged to maintain their policy of refusing to work with federal deportations These include Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Entire states are part of the sanctuary movement: these include California and New York.

The movement is led by students and youth, something we have not seen in the United States since the 60’s.

In fact, it seems like Americans are reaching far back into their history in the struggle for human rights. For some, the leadership by youth reminds us of the revolutionary 60’s. For an older generation, it reminds them of the 30’s with its struggles between fascism, on the one hand, and the greatest movement for trade union and progressive organization, on the other hand. And there is even talk of “underground railways” to protect the persecuted, which hearkens back to the abolitiionists of the 19th century.

In these days, there are many wise counsels. Here is one of them, from Shamil Idriss, President of Search for Common Ground:

    “Breakthroughs usually only come out of crises, and we are in crisis. So there is no better time for We, the People, to build a new order: one based on mutual respect and care for our fellow citizens, a commitment to social justice, and a defense of the liberties that give us the power to build that order in the first place.

    So here are three steps that anyone can take and three insights from more than thirty years of peacebuilding that may help you build up the courage to take them.

    1. Whatever it is you are pursuing, think about who loses if you win.

    This may be pretty clear right now if you are a Trump voter – it is Clinton voters. But for an environmental advocate pursuing legal action against a polluting company, it may be the employees who will be out of work if the company goes out of business; for an opponent of the Affordable Care Act, it may be the 20+ million Americans who may end up without health insurance; for a supporter (or opponent) of affirmative action, it may be the people who won’t land the job or get the educational scholarship they might otherwise have gotten.

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Questions related to this article:

The post-election fightback for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

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    2. Decide you care what happens to them.

    This does not mean you need be any less principled or passionate in your beliefs, only that you are willing to consider whether there might be a place on the other side of those debates where your adversaries – your fellow citizens – can also have their basic needs met and dignity respected.

    3. Reach out across that divide to start a real conversation.

    A real conversation begins when you start by listening and asking questions so as to understand, and not only to convince. And it is when you discover what lies behind others’ positions – their aspirations, interests, and fears – that you not only find common ground, but establish a relationship that can create more of it.

    Insights from years of practical peacebuilding that can help you take these steps.

    Hate and bigotry almost always grow out of fear. Understanding this can reduce your own apprehension when you consider reaching out to people whose aggressive views offend or disturb you.

    Caring for those you disagree with is not the same as compromising your principles. In truly divided societies, there is a critical threshold through which people must pass in order to open up to dialogue: it is the experience of being heard and respected by those who disagree with them. You can still disagree with someone’s position, but if you reflect true care for the hopes and aspirations that have led them to it, transformative change becomes possible – not only in their outlook, but also in yours.

    Emotional connections change everything; rational arguments don’t. The experience of being respected – or its opposite: being ignored or humiliated – has a much more powerful influence on people’s opinions and behavior than do rational arguments. Indeed, if you present the same fact to two individuals with opposite worldviews, they will interpret it in ways that reinforce what they each already believe. Showering your adversaries with debate points may feel gratifying, but it almost certainly won’t change minds–and will in fact make them more obstinate if it comes at the expense of making them feel heard.

    So, please consider taking the first step with that police officer or community activist; with the Muslim, Jew, Evangelical or atheist who you don’t know, or think you know but don’t understand; with that political adversary whose views you can’t stand. Take it knowing you are not compromising your principles, but merely elevating the well-being and dignity of your fellow citizen to be as important as the causes that motivate you.

    If we Americans do this, we will come up with solutions to our problems that are more creative, sustainable, and healthier for us all. And we will set the example for our political leaders to follow, rather than waiting for them to do it for us.”

Shamil’s remarks remind us of Gandhi’s statement that we must have no enemies, but rather, opponents whom we have yet to convince. And as Gandhi said (as quoted by Martin Luther King): Nonviolent resistance is not a method for cowards: it does resist . . . Gandhi often said that if cowardice is the only alternative to violence, it is better to fight . . . while the nonviolent resister is passive in the sense that he is not physically aggressive toward his opponent, his mind and emotions are always active , constantly seeking to persuade the opponent that he is wrong.”

We are receiving many other similar wise counsels, for example those of John Dear of Pace e Bene, or Tiffany Easthom of Nonviolent Peaceforce.

As John Dear says, “Please take some new action.”

HUMAN RIGHTS, North America