Category Archives: TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Photos: #FreeAhedTamimi and #FreePalestine in Brussels, Berlin, Athens, Amsterdam, London, Jaipur, Manchester, Naples, Milan, Dortmund

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A photo essay from Samidoun, Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Dozens of organizations around the world joined a global call for actions to free Ahed Tamimi, fellow Palestinian child prisoners like Abdul-Khalik Burnat, her family members Nariman and Nour Tamimi, and all Palestinian prisoners on 22 December.


Brussels, Belgium – 22 December 2017 (Photo: Myriam De Ly)

This call coincided with the ongoing large demonstrations around the world in defense of Palestine and Jerusalem following U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration that the U.S. is recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the upsurge inside Palestine against Zionism and U.S. imperialism. It was also marked by the 128-9-35 vote at the United Nations against the Trump declaration and Israeli colonialism in Jerusalem.

Protests around the world demanded freedom for the prisoners, joining the day of action, and stood with Jerusalem and Palestine. In addition to the photos below, protests also took place in Hamburg, Koblenz, Stuttgart, Gottingen, Kalmar, Brescia, Viareggio and Lodi.

Please email us at samidoun@samidoun.net or message us on Facebook to let us know about your protests to free Ahed Tamimi and Palestinian prisoners and to stand with Jerusalem and with Palestine!


New York City, US – 22 December 2017 (Photo: Bud Korotzer/Desertpeace)


Berlin, Germany – 22 December 2017 (Photo: Afif El-Ali)


London, UK – 23 December 2017 (Photo: Yaya Aurora- Facebook)

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Question for this article

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

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Manchester, UK – 23 December 2017 (Photo: Mebz Malji)


Naples, Italy – 22 December 2017


Milan, Italy – 23 December 2017 (Photo: Francesco Emilio Giordano)


Dortmund, Germany – 23 December 2017 (Photo: Mahmoud Salem)


Jaipur, India – 22 December 2017 (Photo: Adv Kuldeep Vyas)


Amsterdam, Netherlands – 24 December 2017

global, Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

Youth Dialogue at CSW62 presents policy recommendations for inclusion of young women and girls living in rural areas

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from UN Women

“Women and girls who live in rural areas are not at the danger of being left behind, they ARE being left behind,” said Lopa Banerjee, Director of the Civil Society Division at UN Women, opening the Youth Dialogue hosted on 17 March, at the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women. The Dialogue, focusing on the theme, “Leave No One Behind”, witnessed spirited discussions revolving around the challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of young women and girls living in rural communities, and was led by UN Women in collaboration with the UN Youth Envoy and nine civil society organizations.


Young activists gathered at the CSW62 Youth Dialogue on 17 March, 2018. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

“As young people, what all of us need to understand is that using our voice doesn’t cost anything,” said Jaha Dukureh, anti-FGM activist from The Gambia, and now UN Women’s Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, emphasizing on the importance of solidarity among the youth.

The event called attention to the structural barriers faced by young women and girls in rural communities and highlighted practical solutions in the form of recommendations for policy makers.

“We are the largest generation the world has ever seen. We are 1.8 billion strong,” said Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, moderating the inter-generational dialogue with six young activists working on various issues such as access to ICT, indigenous people’s rights, and rights of people living with disabilities.

One of the panellists, Edward Ndopu from the World Economic Forum, originally from South Africa, said, “the barrier [for young people] is not in participation, the barrier is to leadership. I come from a continent with the world’s largest youth demographic. But in the African continent, when we look at the people who represent us in office, the average age of Members of Parliament is between 65 and 70.”

Shelley Cabrera from the Continental Liaison for Indigenous Women of the Americas Network, another panellist, said, “As youth, we need to take a stance and pass on the torch to those who will follow.”

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Question for this article

Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

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In a conversation with the youth, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN Women, observed, “the first thing that worries me about the situation of young people and women is the normalization of exclusion. One challenge and responsibility of the UN is to address this normalization.” She urged young people to come together and form alliances for accelerating progress.

Throughout the day, youth participants, academics, experts and activists from rural and urban communities discussed a range of issues that impact rural youth, including health, violence, education, land rights and the environment, economic justice, and access to information and technology. A set of policy recommendations were presented in conclusion by the youth, which included: ensure access to free quality education – inclusive of digital literacy, human rights education and comprehensive sex education, ; ensure services are well-funded, survivor-centred, free, and accessible to young women, girls living and working in rural areas; increased opportunities that enable young women and girls and trans youth living and working in rural communities to meaningfully participate the labor market by investing in financial literacy programmes, providing training opportunities that lead to decent and meaningful work as well ability to unionize and to form cooperatives; adopt and enforce legislation that gives girls and young women equal inheritance rights, as well as rights to property and resources. 

Responding to the recommendations, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka said, “the recommendations will be taken to the Chair of CSW and to negotiating delegates to inform the development of the Agreed Conclusions of the CSW62.” She also encouraged the participants to take these recommendations to their own communities and disseminate widely. She assured that UN Women will support its country offices in the dissemination and advocacy.

The Vice Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth from Germany, Ms. Elke Ferner, reiterated the vital role of the youth as agents of change and promised to work more closely with the Missions to include the voices of young rural women and girls in their delegations to CSW. Canada’s Senator from Manitoba, Ms. Marilou McPhedran, committed to take all the recommendations to the Prime Minister and to the Youth Advisory Council in Canada.

Rural women and girls routinely face exclusion in all spaces, and recognizing this, Jayathma Wickramanayake insisted on data collection as one of the main components for the achievement of Agenda 2030 for rural women and girls and said that systems must be put in place for shadow reporting on SDGs and youth in rural areas.

Wrapping up the event, UN Women’s Lopa Banerjee said, “This dialogue was conceived as a space where young women and girls from rural communities can discuss how they can thrive as leaders, not simply live, not survive: but thrive. Our work at UN Women will be to make sure that these community-led solutions, whether on education, on violence, on stigma-free comprehensive sexual education, or land rights, will be taken into account in the CSW62 agreed conclusions.”

This year’s Youth Dialogue followed an inter-generational civil society dialogue  organized by UN Women and partners, which also diverse constituencies from around the globe to discuss what it would take to leave no woman or girl in any rural area behind in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

Ahed Tamimi and the Pathology of the Israeli Mind

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article by Dana Visalli for Global Research

The trial of Ahed Tamimi—the sixteen year old Palestinian girl who slapped a fully-armed Israeli soldier who was standing in her front yard looking for Palestinian demonstrators to shoot—is supposed to reconvene in a few days. (Editor’s note: Her request that the trial should be public has been denied.) Israeli military courts have a 100% conviction rate, even of children. Ahed is one of several Palestinian youth who have become symbolic throughout the world for the 70-year old Palestinian struggle to regain and retain their own land and their basic rights as human beings. She has already been in prison for three months for attempting to protect her home and family from Israeli soldier-intruders. Her mother Nariman, who went to visit Ahed the day after she was taken to prison, was arrested upon her arrival and has also spent the last three months in jail. (See earlier CPNN article).

I traveled to Ahed’s village of Nabi Saleh a week ago, to learn more about problems confronting the village as Israelis appropriate their fields and water supplies for an ever-growing illegal (according to the United Nations) Israeli settlement nearby, and in hopes of meeting Ahed’s father Bassem and her cousin Janna Jihad Ayyad. Upon arrival no one was home so I took a seat on the front porch. Soon various people were coming and going, and one of them told me Bassem was away, but that Janna was around. We phoned her and she showed up a few minutes later.

Janna is a precocious eleven year-old who speaks English fluently and has been filming and reporting on the abuses of her people by the Israelis since she was seven. The deaths of two men in her village—her cousin, Mustafa Tamimi, and another uncle, Rushdie Tamimi—served as a trigger for her to begin documenting what was happening in Nabi Saleh. Mustafa was killed by an Israeli gas canister and Rushdie was fatally shot in his groin.

She has risked her own safety many times to document Israeli behavior in Palestine, which over the last 70 years includes driving a million Palestinians off of their land and from their homes, and appropriating for themselves the vast majority of what prior to 1947-48 had been the Palestinian homeland. To some degree she has an advantage over adult reporters, because as she puts it, “The soldiers catch the big journalists and take their cameras….The camera is stronger than the gun. I can send my message to many people, and they can send it to others.”

At this point she has a Facebook page with 280,000 followers and her own Youtube channel, well worth visiting. Children in Palestine are forced to grow up early and fast. Janna’s uncle Bilal explained, “We must teach our children not to accept humiliation and not be cowards. We are under occupation. We cannot teach our children silence; they must fight for their freedom.”

On the day I visited our conversation took a different direction. After briefly talking about life under occupation and how much she missed her best friend Ahed, I showed her a book I had brought with me, Wildflowers of the Mediterranean. She was quickly transformed from a serious journalist reporting on the disaster that has befallen her people into an animated, enthusiastic student of the natural world. She dashed around Ahed’s yard, bringing in the many spring blooms, searching in the book for the ones she did not recognize, and pointing out the ones she already knew.

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Question for this article

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

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At one point she stood in the very spot in the entryway to the Tamimi household (see image on the right) where Ahed had confronted the Israeli soldiers three months before. Where Ahed had found young Israeli men armed with machine guns bent of perpetuating violence against Palestinians on Palestinian land, Janna was for that moment immersed in the beauty of the good earth. The contrast could not have been more stark. Foreigners arriving with guns and bombs are resisted. Arriving with peaceful intentions one is met with a cup of tea.

I spent two hours with Janna, wandering the hills above the village, identifying flowers and enjoying the impressive limestone geology. The ground everywhere is littered with tear gas canisters, spent concussion grenades and smoke bombs. The Israelis have been harassing the people of Nabi Saleh for 70 years, plenty of time for the spent ammunition to form windrows among the fields of flowers.

The cruelty exhibited by the Israelis in their hungering to imprison the young Ahed Tamimi, whose only wish was to protect her people and her home from intruders and whose only weapon was a mere slap—the inherent cruelty of those hungering to put her in a prison cell for years, or even forever, with some government officials calling for rape and further darker abuse—this display of pathological cruelty by an entire society has people throughout the world wondering what curse has befallen the people of Israel.

One possible answer is that they are obsessed with the hallucination that they are somehow a ‘chosen people,’ that they are somehow better than the rest of humanity, even that they are the preferred favorites of some mythological god. As prime minister Menachem Begin exulted after the Zionist slaughter of Palestinians at the village of Deir Yassin prior to the 1948 war, “God, God, Thou has chosen us for conquest.” According to the Israel Democracy Institute, approximately two thirds of Israeli Jews believe that Jews are the “chosen people”.

This sense of superiority over others is in fact a common human trait, mixed though it always is with a countervailing feeling of inferiority and fear. Albert Einstein in the wisdom of his old age addressed this pathology when he observed, “A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.”

The obvious deeper truth made clear in our time through scientific inquiry is that all humans have the same long, deep and difficult history. All humans evolved together in Africa for 200,000 years before any left that continent. All human beings share 99.9% the exact same genetic code and 99.9% the same long, traumatic evolutionary journey.

The human family faces pressing ecological challenges at this particular locus along the course of our Big History, shared by all people, such as, for example, overshoot of the human population and diminution of the richness, beauty and diversity life on earth. None of our challenges are mitigated or even addressed by the mythologies spun by the human mind over the course of our our short-term, 3000-year Little History. Those working for a viable future for all of people and for the biosphere as a whole look forward to the Zionists and the Jews and all Israelis maturing out of their mythological hallucination of separateness and rejoining the family of humanity and the community of life on the journey towards a viable future.

The author, Dana Visalli, is an ecologist living in Washington State. He is currently volunteering in Palestine for a month. He can be reached at jdanavisalli@gmail.com, www.methownaturalist.com

Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Nobel Women Peace Laureates Call for an End to Rohingya Genocide

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

A press release from the Nobel Women’s Initiative

As three Nobel peace laureates—Tawakkol Karman of Yemen, Shirin Ebadi of Iran, and Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland – conclude their visit to Bangladesh on the six-month anniversary of the current Rohingya crisis, the three women are calling for an immediate end to the “genocide” of the Rohingya people.


Mairead Maguire meets with Rohingya survivors of gender based violence in Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp February 25, 2018 in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Photo by Allison Joyce

This week, the three women Laureates ­––in partnership with Bangladesh women’s organization Naripokkho­­––spent time listening to stories, meeting over 100 women refugees in the Cox’s Bazar area, and travelling to “no man’s land”, where thousands of Rohingya have been stranded between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

After hearing testimonies describing how security forces burned villages, tortured, killed and systematically raped women and girls—as well as reports from humanitarian organizations and UN officials—the Laureates concluded that the on-going attacks on the Rohingya of Rakhine State amount to crimes against humanity and genocide.

The Laureates are calling on Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar military to put an end to the killings and the persecution of the Rohingya people.

“She must stop turning a deaf ear to the persecution of the Rohingya or risk being complicit in the crimes,” said Tawakkol Karman. “Wake up or face prosecution.”

As women committed to peace, the Laureates are urging Aung San Suu Kyi to exercise her personal and moral responsibility stop the genocide. “If she fails to do so, her choice is clear: resign or be held accountable, along with the army commanders, for the crimes committed” added Karman.

The Laureates heard how Rohingya women have been twice victimized: for being Rohingyas and for being women. They described stories of horrific violence and systematic mass rape.

“My 18-year old daughter had her breasts cut off and she died,” a Rohingya woman in the Thyankhali camp told the Nobel peace laureates.

“My baby was only 1-year and 6-months old. The military tore her from my arms and slaughtered her in front of me,” said a Rohingya survivor of rape. She then passed around a photo she had of her child. She wanted everyone to see her little girl.

The laureates heard stories of children being thrown into fires and drowned in rivers. They heard stories of houses and complete villages being burned to the ground and children being shot while running to the forest to seek shelter and safety.

“The torture, rape and killing of any one member of our human family must be challenged, as in the case of the Rohingya genocide,” said Mairead Maguire. “Silence is complicity.”

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Questions for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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The Nobel peace laureates were impressed by the strength and resilience of the women who had survived such horrific crimes. One woman at the Thyankhali camp told them, “Why should we feel shame? We were tortured. We don’t need to feel shame about that.”

Another woman at Camp Kutupalong said, “We are not afraid of anything. We want our stories to be told.”

The Laureates are calling for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to be brought to justice before the International Criminal Court.

“With over a million Rohingya displaced, countless dead or missing, and rape and sexual violence being used as a weapon of war, it is well past the time for the international community to act,” said Shirin Ebadi.

The Laureates met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, government officials, human rights organizations and humanitarian agencies. They extended their thanks to Prime Minister Hasina and to both the Government and the people of Bangladesh for their exemplary acts of compassion for the Rohingya refugees.

The Laureates also expressed deep appreciation to the Bangladeshi government and to the various humanitarian agencies that have met the extraordinary challenge of setting up the Refugee and Relocation Camps for over one million Rohingya refugees.

As a result of their visit to Bangladesh, the Nobel Laureates are calling for:

* An immediate end to the genocide against the Rohingya in Rakhine, and an order to the Myanmar military to immediately stop all acts of sexual violence.

* Justice for Rohingya victims: perpetrators of crimes must be brought to justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC).

* Bangladesh, as the only country in South Asia to have ratified the Rome Statute, should, along with other states parties, the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council, refer the case to the ICC.

* Alternatively, the ICC Prosecutor should open an independent investigation into crimes against humanity and genocide perpetrated in Rakhine State.

* A voluntary, safe and dignified return. There should be no forced repatriation. When Rohingya do return to Rakhine State, they should be offered security and be granted full citizenship.

* The government of Myanmar to take immediate action to address the systematic discrimination of the Rohingya in Rakhine State, and ensure the Rohyinga’s right to nationality, land ownership, freedom of movement and other fundamental rights.

* A comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar to ensure that there are no sales of weapons or other military equipment.

* The international community to increase its support to Bangladesh’s humanitarian response.

* Bangladesh to ratify the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention, as a major step to give protection to refugees and set an example in South Asia.

For more information, please contact:
Ketty Nivyabandi, Media Associate: knivyabandi@nobelwomensinitiative.org + 1 613 691 1419
Katia Gianneschi, Media Outreach: Katia.Gianneschi@gmail.com +1 613 614 9740

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

South Asia, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Challenge of Tackling Terrorism Threat Can Be Achieved through Solidarity, Secretary-General Tells African Union Peace and Security Council

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A press release from the United Nations

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the African Union Peace and Security Council’s meeting on combating the transnational threat of terrorism in Africa, in Addis Ababa today:

It is an honour to take part in this meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council.  I welcome your focus on a comprehensive approach to combating the transnational threat of terrorism in Africa.  Let me begin with three overarching points.

First, we know nothing justifies terrorism.  No cause or grievance can ever excuse the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, the destruction of lives and livelihoods, and the creation of panic for its own sake.

Second, we know that terrorism has unfortunately been with us in different forms across ages and continents.  But modern terrorism is being waged on an entirely different scale.  It has become an unprecedented threat to international peace, security and development.

Third, we know modern terrorism is not only different in degree, but also different in nature — having grown more complex, and with new modus operandi.  And the linkages between terrorism and transnational organized crime are growing every day.

The world should never forget that the vast majority of terrorist attacks take place in developing countries.  The communities, victims and survivors of terrorism are very much in our hearts.

The devastating consequences of the threat posed by terrorism in Africa demand collective and comprehensive action.  No single nation, institution, or organization can defeat terrorism in Africa or anywhere else.  We need a sustained, cooperative and coordinated approach in tackling this menace.

The African Union is a vital partner in confronting the global challenge posed by terrorist groups.  As I have said from day one as Secretary-General, we needed a higher platform of cooperation with the African Union.  And I am proud that we are indeed building that platform across the range of challenges and opportunities confronting this great continent.

Last year, we signed the Joint United Nations-African Union Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security.  The Framework includes cooperation in the field of countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism.  I believe this work can be strengthened even further with a memorandum of understanding setting out a road map for future collaboration and capacity-building support on countering terrorism within the context of that Framework.

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Question for this article

Islamic extremism, how should it be opposed?

Can the African Union help bring a culture of peace to Africa?

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L’une des premières réformes que j’ai entreprises a été de créer un Bureau de lutte contre le terrorisme.

En collaboration étroite avec l’Union africaine et d’autres partenaires, ce bureau a mis au point des stratégies régionales et des plans d’action nationaux de prévention du terrorisme et de l’extrémisme violent dans la Corne de l’Afrique et en Afrique centrale et australe.

Le Bureau a intensifié l’aide apportée à plusieurs pays d’Afrique, notamment le Mali et le Nigéria, pour qu’ils renforcent leurs capacités aux niveaux national et régional.

Pour ce faire, le Bureau s’est appuyé sur des instances telles que l’Initiative d’assistance intégrée pour la lutte antiterroriste, qui permet de mobiliser l’ensemble des organismes des Nations Unies à l’appui des États Membres qui en font la demande.  Une stratégie d’assistance intégrée est en cours d’établissement pour aider le G5 Sahel à lutter contre le terrorisme dans la sous-région, dont la vulnérabilité est notamment due au retour des combattants terroristes étrangers.

Looking ahead, I believe a comprehensive approach to combating the transnational threat of terrorism in Africa can be developed around four key priorities.

First, by addressing the deficit in international counter-terrorism cooperation at the global, regional and national levels.  In June, I will convene the first-ever United Nations summit of heads of counter-terrorism agencies to build on Member States’ priorities and our discussion today.  Our goal is to enhance cooperation and the exchange of information, and develop new and innovative ways to tackle terrorism.

Second, success in countering terrorism will be greatly advanced through ratification of existing legal counter-terrorism instruments, conventions and protocols.  The United Nations is ready to provide the support needed to the African Union and Member States to implement these instruments.

Third, the threat posed by terrorism requires addressing the root causes and underlying conditions.  I welcome the growing emphasis by the African Union and African Member States to address the drivers of violent extremism.  It is crucial that our efforts include tackling the lack of economic opportunities, including extreme poverty, marginalization, exclusion and discrimination, while ensuring respect for international humanitarian law and human rights.

Fourth and finally, we must place a special focus on expanding opportunities for young people — especially since youth under the age of 25 form the largest demographic group in most developing countries and they are often the ones most at risk of being recruited and radicalized by terrorists.  Strategic investments in education and employment for young men and women are essential.

Resource mobilization for counter-terrorism efforts is also critical.  After all, terrorism is not only a threat to peace and security but also to sustainable development.  I call on the international community to mobilize resources in support of African countries as they strive to balance security and development.

Let me conclude by once again expressing my profound gratitude to the African Union for its cooperation and to African Member States for your commitment and contributions in tackling terrorism and violent extremism.

We face a serious challenge — but I believe it is one that we can meet with solidarity, common action and a shared resolve.

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

The People of Mexico Give the World an Example of Solidarity

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An editorial by Leonardo Boff in Cultura de Paz. Managua, Nicaragua • Volume 23 • N° 73 • September – December, 2017 (translated by CPNN)

On September 19 and 23, Mexico was shaken by two earthquakes, one of magnitude 7.1 and another of 6.1 on the Richter scale, which struck 5 States and dozens of municipalities, including the capital, Mexico City, collapsing hundreds of houses and producing cracks in hundreds of other buildings. Beautiful churches, like that of St. Francis of Assisi in Puebla, saw their towers demolished. Everyone still remembers the terrible earthquake of 1985 that produced more than ten thousand victims. This, although it has been very strong, killed 360 people.


Image from Yucatan Times

Since then, I have been in Mexico and Puebla, invited to give lectures, and I have been able to verify in situ the ravages and the trauma caused to the people.

But what is most remarkable has been the spirit of solidarity and cooperation of the Mexican people. Without anyone to call them, thousands of people, especially youth, began to remove debris to save the buried victims. Groups were spontaneously organized and this spirit of solidarity saved many lives.

Immediately, aid collection centers were created for the victims, with water, food, clothes, blankets and all kinds of important utensils for a house. At the time I write this article (10/13/17) many collection sites are still visible. The cooperation knows no limits.

Here I only narrate two facts that are especially touching. The first: a school building that collapsed slowly with many children inside. A young man, seeing that a kind of channel had formed in the middle of the ruins, penetrated quickly through the hole and took out several children of 5-7 years. He had barely gotten the last one out when another part of the school fell behind him, saving his life by seconds.

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(Click here for Spanish original of this article)

Question for this article

Is there a renewed movement of solidarity by the new generation?

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Second fact: a young lady, about 30 years old, was 34 hours under the rubble. She granted a moving interview on television, narrating the different phases of her tragedy. Imprisoned in the rubble, a concrete slab was fixed within a few inches of her face. For 30 hours she did not hear any voice, or steps, or any noise that meant the approach of someone who could rescue her.

She narrated the different psychological stages, similar to those we know when a patient receives the news of the incurable character of his illness and the proximity of death.

At first, this lady asked: why precisely I must go through this misfortune? Then, almost desperate, she began to cry until she had no tears.  Then she began to pray and to plead with God and all the saints, especially the Virgin of Guadalupe, the one with the greatest devotion of the Mexicans. Finally, she resigned herself to die and confidently surrendered to the mysterious will of God. But she did not lose hope.

Finally, she heard footsteps and then voices. Her hope was strengthened. After 34 hours, literally buried under a mountain of rubble, she could be rescued. And here she was in the interview, happy and whole, accompanied by a psychoanalyst specialized in dealing with psychological traumas
like those caused by a sudden earthquake, and giving testimony of her terrible experience.

Mexico is a region geologically marked by earthquakes, given the configuration of the tectonic plates of its subsoil. The human being has no power over these enormous forces. What you can do is take precautions, learn to build your buildings to resist earthquakes in the way of the Japanese and, above all, get used to coexisting with this indomitable reality. In a similar way, the population of our semi-arid region of the Northeast, who must adapt and learn to coexist with the drought that can last for many years, as is currently the case.

 In the debate after a conference at the Universidad Iberoamericana, in Mexico City, one woman declared: “If our country and if all of humanity lived that spirit of solidarity and cooperation, there would be no poor in the world and we would have rescued a part of the lost paradise “.

I reinforced her statement and told her that it was the cooperation and solidarity of our anthropoid ancestors, who began to eat together, which allowed them to leap from animality to humanity. What was true yesterday must still be true today. Yes, solidarity and, in general, the cooperation of everyone with everyone will be able to rescue the essence of making us fully human. In recent days, the Mexican people have given us a splendid example of this fundamental truth.

(Thank you to Marcos Estrada, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

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

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A article by by Markeshia Ricks in the New Haven Independent

A week after President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address, Mayor Toni Harp delivered a “state of the city” address that put New Haven squarely in the camp of the anti-Trump “resistance.”

In front of a full aldermanic chamber at City Hall, Harp painted a picture of a city resistant to Trump’s vision for America, resistant to Connecticut’s cities-vs.-suburbs mentality, and resistant to any notion that New Haven isn’t a city on the rise. She borrowed a word — “resistance” — that has become a phrase for local movements across the country formed to oppose the current administration in Washington.


Video of Mayor’s speech

A year ago, Harp said, no one could have predicted that “we would be dealing with such a dramatically altered political, social, and economic landscape.”

“In that context, tonight, I would describe the state of New Haven as resistant to these frightening trends in this nation toward what would be a new normal -–  a Republic, a state, and a civic life so different as to be unrecognizable to most of us,” she said. “New Haven is resistant to these would-be, new standards not for the sake of being contrary, and not because it’s stylish or politically correct to be, but because these new standards are contrary to the best interests of this city, its residents, and its future.”

Harp said that New Haven continues to offer a hand to its residents even though there is “a trend in some government circles to neglect or abandon the aged, the vulnerable, and those who simply can’t keep up.

“Social services for veterans, the elderly, the formerly incarcerated, the homeless, the disabled, the addicted, and the mentally ill seem to fall increasingly on the shoulders of local providers, as federal and state support dwindles,” she said. “Going forward, New Haven must resist the temptation to follow suit: in my opinion, a community is measured by the care it provides for those who cannot provide – or speak up – for themselves. Tonight, I’m pleased to say that in this regard, New Haven continues to measure up.”

Harp said all of the progress that New Haven has made “reflects an undeniable collaboration.”

“In New Haven, elected officials, city workers, residents, volunteers, students, immigrants, and a host of other city partners make this a vibrant, attractive city, committed to its better days ahead. New Haven is resistant – and will continue to resist – a laundry list of frightful trends in America,” she said. “Perhaps most frightening among them is a deliberate attempt by some in this nation to deny benefits of the American dream—safety, security, education, healthcare, opportunity — to any number of Americans for completely arbitrary and unjustifiable reasons.

Harp said New Haven has “resisted” by rallying to the side of displaced Puerto Ricans with ongoing aid and relocation assistance; by partnering with Bridgeport in a long shot but, alas, failed bid for Amazon’s second North American headquarters; and by creating a favorable climate for development that is starting to pay dividends downtown and beyond. She also noted that since she took office New Haven’s unemployment rate has dropped from 10.3 percent to 5.1 percent.

“This city continues to resist any notion that big ideas are too much to handle in challenging times,” she said. “The new Boathouse at Canal Dock, a major redesign for the rest of Long Wharf, and continuing progress on Downtown Crossing reaffirm this. Phase 2 of Downtown Crossing will get started this year, continuing the process of stitching back together parts of town that were unduly separated generations ago.”

“As I complete my assessment of New Haven this year, and as I assess the state of other cities nearby and frankly, across the nation, there isn’t a city I envy, there isn’t a city I’d rather serve as mayor, and there isn’t a community of people I’d rather be with as we tackle a daunting agenda under these current, challenging circumstances,” she concluded.

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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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Alders Praise Vision, Seek Details

Several alders were getting their first taste of the mayor’s “state of the city” address as a member of the Board of Alders, and they found a lot to like.

Yale Alder Hacibey Catabasoglu said he was happy to hear about the city’s infrastructure and the improvements that have been made, such as the wifi on the Green and efforts to help small businesses. He applauded the city’s efforts to bring in companies like Goldman Sachs to teach small immigrant business owners like his father.

He added that he would have liked for Harp to talk a little bit about youth activism in the city and how their political activism helps New Haven resist.

“The youth are the ones that are going to be the decision makers and I think it would have been nice for her to touch upon that,” he said. “But overall, I thought it was a wonderful speech.”

First-term Newhallville/Prospect Hill Alder Kim Edwards said she found the mayor’s message about the state of the city to be positive and upbeat.
“We sound like a city that’s thriving,” she said. “There are many things we need to work on and we have to make sure all of our population is included in the decisions that we make daily.”

Edwards said while she knows there is much work ahead on the budget, she said she was impressed that the city has managed to cut its unemployment rate nearly in half.

“We need to keep on that trend and we need to make sure that they are living wage jobs,” she said. “We live in a high tax state. So we need to not just use the words living wage. They actually need to be living wage jobs.”

Downtown Alder Abigail Roth said listening to Mayor Harp Monday night reminded her of how proud she is of the Elm City. “I liked her theme of a city that’s resistant, especially with the state of our country today,” said Roth, who attended one of the original “resistance” events, a D.C women’s march coinciding with Trump’s first inauguration weekend. “It feels good to be in a city where people’s values align with mine and the mayor’s values on so many fronts.”

But like Edwards, Roth noted that the upcoming tango with the budget is on the horizon. And Harp didn’t have a lot to say about that in her address aside from mentioning the reduction of overtime in the fire department.

“If you look at the [monthly] budget reports it’s something we have to be concerned about,” Roth said. She noted, for instance,  a recent story in the Independent about a police psych-exam contract problem that is delaying the seating of an academy class and leading to increased overtime costs. She called the issue “a huge concern.” “That’s not to take away from what she said in the speech,” Roth added. “There were a lot of positive things but the city’s budget is a very serious thing that we’re going to have to focus a lot on.”

There will be time for focusing on that soon enough for Morris Cove Alder Sal DeCola, but Monday night the mayor’s speech had him focused on the positive.

“There are a lot of good things that are happening for New Haven,” he said. We’re always hearing the negative and she was talking about all of the positive things. I wish more people would focus on the positive. The bad’s always going to be there. I have this saying, ‘Every flower garden has weeds in it; look at the flowers.’ We know the weeds are there; enjoy the flowers. That’s how I look at it.”

Fair Haven Ernie Santiago saw some flowers when he heard Harp say that a sweep that helped the city assess the needs of Newhallville last year will make its way to his community.

“That was very good news,” he said. “Finally, Fair Haven is going to get its due. Now, we gotta see if it comes to fruition and how much is done because we do need a lot in Fair Haven. We’ve got the worst streets, the worst sidewalks. I feel good about hearing what I heard. She gave a good speech. It’s always good to hear they’re going to work on your ward.”
Freshman Newhallville/Prospect Hill Alder Steve Winter said he appreciated the message of resistance and believed it was needed. He also noted that he’s interested in hearing more about how the digitization of city services and other technology could help the city maintain a high level of service in a tough fiscal environment.

“With values and institutions under assault, it’s important to have our leaders and our colleagues remind us of why we have to do what we do and why you have to keep going,” he said.

North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Youth Solidarity Fund 2017 Edition: Project Outcomes and Capacity Building Workshop

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

Excerpts from the September-December 2017 Newsletter, Issue #10 of the Alliance of Civilizations

The implementation period for the seven projects supported under the Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF) 2017 edition came to an end on 31 October 2017. YSF recipients had five months from June 2017 to complete projects funded with a grant of up to USD 25,000 each.

Projects ranged from encouraging behavioral change for peaceful elections in Liberia, to promoting the social inclusion of migrants through arts-based public events in rural areas of Morocco, and engaging young women in peace clubs and sports to promote diversity in Afghanistan. Other projects focused on the role of the media to prevent violence in South Sudan, trained Pakistani youth to advocate for the localization of Security Council Resolution 2250, used flmmaking to share stories of youth in India, Nepal and Bhutan, and taught peace education to reduce instances of violence towards refugees in Uganda.

By the end of the implementation period, over 11,000 direct beneciaries have been impacted by YSF projects, with 83% of those beneficiaries being youth. Of those direct youth beneficiaries, 57% were women. In total, the seven projects of the Youth Solidarity Fund 2017 edition impacted almost 100,000 individuals, both directly and indirectly.

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Question for this article

Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

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During 11-15 December 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey, a closing capacity building workshop was organized for the recipients of the Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF) 2017 edition. The workshop focused on the issue of sustaining their projects following the end of the YSF project implementation period.

In addition to the current recipients, three YSF alumni were also invited to participate. They facilitated sessions for the recipients on solving challenges faced in implementing their projects, as well as best practices on organizational sustainability. Recipients then worked with professional trainers on topics including monitoring and evaluation, fundraising, social media strategies and advocacy.

Participants came from youth-led organizations located in countries such as India, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, South Sudan and Uganda.

On the first day of the workshop, the YSF recipients and alumni took part in a dialogue exchange with representatives of the Turkic Council youth network, in an event commemorating the second anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250.

The Youth Solidarity Fund call for applications is open from 22 January through to 16 February 2018. YSF supports youth-led organizations (led by young people aged 18-35 years) that foster peaceful and inclusive societies by providing seed funding to outstanding projects promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue. More information on eligibility and selection criteria is available on www.unaoc.org.

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

Burkina Faso: Inter-religious dialogue for peace: “It is the diversity of religions that gives meaning to religion”

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Ibrahima Traoré for Lefaso.net

“Live in peace despite our differences”. This was the theme for an inter-religious conference for peace held Saturday, January 13, 2018 in Dédougou. The activity, initiated by the Ahmadiyya Islamic community in Burkina Faso, saw the participation of traditional chiefs, the Catholic community and the Protestant community, each of whom sent a message of peace.

A religion that does not teach love and live together does not deserve the status of being called religion. This is essentially the message of the various speakers. The aim is, according to the Regional Missionary of the Islamic Ahmadiyya Community, Abdoulaye Ouedraogo, to highlight the fact that religions do not have to fight each other; because they all emanate from one God. For him, religious coexistence in Burkina must be constantly promoted and consolidated by religious leaders and elders in order to inculcate the dynamics in the younger generation. He considers that dialogue and the strengthening of fraternity and solidarity … are essential ingredients to maintain. Hence the relevance of the theme: “Living in peace despite our differences”.

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

Question related to this article:
 
How can different faiths work together for understanding and harmony?

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Several speeches and communications marked this day. The recent attack against gendarmes in the region (Boucle du Mouhoun) also motivates the choice of this theme, according to Abdoulaye Ouedraogo. “We want to give our support to people who have been attacked and who have been bruised in their hearts; We, as an Islamic Ahmadiyya, stand in solidarity with them. What they are doing is not Islam. It is purely barbarism, highway robbery,” he lashed out before calling the youth in particular to remain vigilant not to be caught in ignoble acts, which have nothing to do with Islam. For, he argues, the Koran states in Chapter 2 verse 257 that there is no compulsion in religion.

The Abbot Jean-Baptiste Davou pointed out that the inter-religious conference is important for the culture of peace, for the knowledge of the other. “When we accept to exchange, we get to know each other better, to love each other better, to help each other better. It is the refusal to dialogue, to exchange, which makes for ignorance of the other. And when you do not know something, you do not give it much value, “he said.

The prefect of the department of Dédougou, Emile Hien, also representing the governor, congratulated and encouraged the holding of this conference “of the culture of peace and dialogue”. He offered advice that “Religion must not be a source of division, of violence. It must be an opportunity to strengthen living together “. For Mr. Hien, it is the diversity of religions that gives meaning to religion. Let us all be peacemakers, he said, pledging to support this initiative and ensure its sustainability in the region.

Also satisfied were the traditional chiefs who believe that the inter-religious conference for peace is in line with the founding principle of the city of Dédougou which is peace.

Indeed, argues the elder Pierre Dakuo, we can not have prosperity without peace. And all that goes in this direction has the full support of the traditional chiefs of Dédougou. From the administrators and the speakers to the participants, all wished the durability of the Inter-religious Conference for Peace.

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Brazil: Londrina to hold meeting for peace and religious tolerance

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from Bonde News (translated by CPNN)

The Concha Acústica de Londrina, located in Praça 1º de Maio, will be the stage for the 2nd Londrina Meeting of United Religions for Peace for Religious Tolerance, in celebration of the National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance, celebrated on January 21. The meeting will be next Saturday (20 January), from 8am to 10am. In case of rain, the action can be transferred to the Municipal Public Library Pedro Viriato Parigot de Souza.

(foto: Londrina Pazeando)

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Question related to this article:
 
How can different faiths work together for understanding and harmony?

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The event is promoted by the Municipal Council for the Culture of Peace (Compaz), the Commission for the Promotion of Racial Equality and Minorities of the Order of Attorneys of Brazil (OAB) Subsection of Londrina and the Inter Religious Group of Londrina (GDI).
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This is the third consecutive year that the initiative is held in Londrina. According to Compaz’s secretary, Charleston Luiz da Silva, the goal is to promote culture for peace and respect among religions. “We want people to understand that all religions are united for the same purpose. We invite the entire London community to participate.”

About twenty religious leaders have been invited to speak. In the past, 17 leaders participated. Each will have three to five minutes to talk about the culture of peace in the opening, scheduled to start at 8am. At the end of the event, those present will make a hug for peace.

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

Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY