Monday, July 29, 2019

The Time for Waking Up is Now

We, as a people, are being beset on a daily basis by the ravings of the man that represents us here and abroad as our President. He is obviously a severely emotionally and mentally disturbed narcissist and a deranged personality driven by his own personal demons. He has so thoroughly embraced white supremacy that he distorts the reality of the human experience through that lens in spite of, and possibly because of, the wondrous diversity of the country in which he lives. He is also a man who has such a narrow intellectual grasp of complex issues that he is quite incapable of understanding them – the most startling example of this is his “position” on climate change.

To follow the lead of such a personality is to invite folly. He, however, is not to blame – he has always been quite transparent in regard to his views, and his behavior should come as no surprise. To knowingly ascend to the divisive nature of his message, is to set in motion a potential tidal wave of unfettered emotions born of fear, anxiety, uncertainly in regard to the future and hatred that could engulf us all. Through the impetus of his own beliefs, he has managed to lift the veil that effectively obscured the real nature of the divide that has inflicted this country for so long. As all civilizations that have risen and fallen in the tortuous arc of human history, we are faced with many contradictory forces that have come to shape our national character.

In my mind, the paths available to us as a nation are clear. We can either denounce the notion of white supremacy and embrace in its stead the belief that all Americans are deserving of true equality and a legitimate place at the table; or, we can abandon what we claim is our heritage as a free people and let hatred and ignorance claim us once and for all. We can either integrate clear thinking and scientific analysis in formulating national policy for the purpose of resolving deep-seated issues; or, we can choose to accept far-reaching decisions based upon an uninformed and prejudicial rationale and supported by spurious and distorted data.

We can acknowledge the darker aspects of our history – the enslavement of an entire people based upon the color of their skin; the near genocide of native Americans for the sake of national expansion and the great harm done to many peoples around the globe to preserve economic hegemony. Or, we can continue to pretend that we are an exceptional people and accept the deep divisions within our national fabric as a matter of fact.

We can either make the decision to embrace a slow but necessary healing process – true reconciliation – or embrace the irrational pronouncements of a madman; the choice is ours to make.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Maxima Acuna de Chaupe


Over the recent past, Peru has experienced accelerated growth in the mining industry. With the prospect of increasing employment and the possibility of much-needed revenues coming from resource development as promised by competing mining interests, the government of Peru has awarded mining licenses throughout the country, especially in the Northern Peruvian Highlands of Cajamarca where it has been estimated that nearly one-half of the land in this region has been consigned to mining interests. In the regions impacted by this growth in mining, the rural campesinos effected remain in poverty and have felt the deleterious environmental impact that are an inevitable consequence of mining operations, especially heavy-metal water pollution that has a profound impact upon both health and agriculture.

For example, Colorado-based Newmont and Buenaventura, a Peruvian mining company, jointly owned and operate the Yanacocha Mine – a highly profitable gold and copper mining operation. As this operation was becoming exhausted of these precious materials, its owners looked elsewhere and in 2010 proposed the development of a new site for the mining of gold, the Conga Mine, ten miles from Yanacocha. This project involved draining four nearby lakes and transforming one of these lakes, Laguna Azul into an initial mining site. This project would ultimately threaten the headwaters of five significant watersheds in the Cajamarca Paramo ecosystem, a high-altitude wetland.

Máxima Acuña’s personal story is indicative of the plight of native peoples in Peru and elsewhere in South America. Acuña and her husband purchased land in a rural section of Peru’s northern highlands – Tragadero Grande. They built a small house and managed a modest farm growing potatoes and other crops as well as managing sheep and cows for the production of cheese and milk. There, they raised a family and felt safe and secure within their apparently peaceful environment. What they did not realize was the fact that Newmont and Buenaventura Mining sought to incorporate her land to fulfill their goal of developing the Conga mine.

The harassment and cruelty that Acuña had to endure at the hands of the mining company in collusion with the Peruvian government was quite extraordinary. The mining company demanded that the family had to abandon their home. When Acuña refused, armed forces came, destroyed the family’s home and possessions and physically abused her and one of her daughters. In addition, the mining company brought the family to court and sued for squatting on their own land. At the end of this legal battle, Acuña was found guilty and fined nearly $2000 dollars – a remarkable sum for a subsistence farmer.

Undeterred and determined to resist this assault on her and her family’s rights, Acuña sought help from GRUFIDES – a non-governmental organization (NGO, http://gurfides.org) created to advocate for the native peoples of Cajamarca (see map below) in response to the incursion of mining interests in the region.



With the assistance of her attorney, Mirtha Vasquez, Acuña appealed the court ruling against her
using official documents that showed that she held legitimate title to the land erroneously claimed by the mining company. Finally, in December 2014, the court found in her favor. As a result, the Conga mine failed to expand into Tragadero Grande.

In spite of this apparent legal victory, Acuña was still subjected to relentless harassment on the part of the mining company and its paid security contractors. For example, a fence was built around her land, her potato crops were willfully destroyed, and placed her and her family under intense scrutiny with the aim of preventing Acuña from planting additional crops in the hopes of ultimately driving them off the property. Currently, the legal battles continue in the Peruvian Supreme Court.

Regardless of this horrific assault on her way of life, her livelihood and her well-being, Acuña has maintained her indomitable determination and optimism. As a result, she continues to be an inspiration for those who are suffering daily from the impact of the relentless harassment and intimidation perpetrated by mining interests in the region and elsewhere.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Dr. Denis Mukwege Mukengere


Dr. Denis Mukwege from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently the founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu – a commercial and industrial center of the country. He is the son of a Pentacostal pastor. Accompanying his father while he visited sick members of his community made a lasting impression on the young boy. This experience undoubtedly influenced Mukengere to choose medicine as his profession; the Swedish Pentacostal mission provided support while he pursued this career. He decided upon gynecology and obstetrics as his specialties noting that female patients at Lemera Hospital did not have adequate medical care and, as a consequence, suffered unnecessary complications during their deliveries. He also realized that many of the women patients also suffered profoundly from the effects of sexually-induced violence.

He founded Panzi Hospital in 1999 specializing as a clinic for gynecological and obstetric care. Since the hospital’s inception, Dr. Mukwege and his staff have helped to care for more than 50,000 survivors of sexual trauma. In addition to providing the necessary medical care, the hospital also provides legal, and psycho-social services to its patients. No patient is ever turned away for lack of sufficient financial resources.

Dr. Mukwege has been fearless in his efforts to increase protections for women and to insist that those responsible for sexual violence be brought to justice, including members of the Congolese government and militia groups laying siege to eastern DRC.

In October 2012, Dr. Mukwege was violently attacked, and his family was held at gunpoint at his home in an assassination attempt. Joseph Bizimana, his trusted friend and security guard, was killed. The attack came several weeks after Dr. Mukwege denounced the country’s 16-year-long conflict and called for those responsible to be brought to justice during a speech at the United Nations. After this attack, Dr. Mukwege and his family fled the country for his safety, but his many Congolese patients and colleagues urged him to resume his life-saving work at Panzi Hospital. He returned to the hospital in January 2013 and was celebrated by crowds of people ecstatic to have him home. During this difficult period, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) worked in close coordination with Dr. Mukwege and colleagues at risk in DRC to mobilize a global campaign to advocate for and protect individuals working on the front lines helping survivors of mass atrocities and prosecuting perpetrators of these mass crimes.

Dr. Mukwege is also on the advisory committee for the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict. He has been the recipient of numerous awards worldwide, including the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, for his advocacy against sexual violence as a weapon of war and for his outstanding services to survivors of rape.

The following is the full text of Mukengere’s nobel prize acceptance speech awarded on December 10, 2018

“In the tragic night of 6 October 1996, rebels attacked our hospital in Lemera, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC). More than thirty people were killed. Patients were slaughtered in their beds point blank. Unable to flee, the staff were killed in cold blood. I could not have imagined that it was only the beginning. Forced to leave Lemera in 1999, we set up the Panzi hospital in Bukavu where I still work as an obstetrician-gynecologist today.

The first patient admitted was a rape victim who had been shot in her genitals. The macabre violence knew no limit. Sadly, this violence has never stopped.

“One day like any other, the hospital received a phone call.

At the other end of the line, a colleague in tears implored: “Please send us an ambulance fast. Please hurry”

So we sent an ambulance, as we normally do. Two hours later, the ambulance returned.

Inside was a little girl about eighteen months old. She was bleeding profusely and was immediately taken to the operating room. When I arrived, all the nurses were sobbing. The baby’s bladder, genitals and rectum were severely injured. By the penetration of an adult. We prayed in silence: my God, tell us what we are seeing isn’t true. Tell us it’s a bad dream. Tell us when we wake up, everything will be alright. But it was not a bad dream. It was the reality. It has become our new reality in the DRC.

“When another baby arrived, I realized that the problem could not be solved in the operating room, but that we had to combat the root causes of these atrocities. I decided to travel to the village of Kavumu to talk to the men: why don’t you protect your babies, your daughters, your wives? And where are the authorities? To my surprise, the villagers knew the suspect. Everyone was afraid of him, since he was a member of the provincial Parliament and enjoyed absolute power over the population. For several months, his militia has been terrorizing the whole village. It had instilled fear by killing a human rights defender who had had the courage to report the facts. The deputy got away with no consequences. His parliamentary immunity enabled him to abuse with impunity.

The two babies were followed by several dozens of other raped children When the forty-eighth victim arrived, we were desperate. With other human rights defenders, we went to a military court. At last, the rapes were prosecuted and judged as crimes against humanity. The rapes of babies in Kavumu stopped. And so did the calls to Panzi hospital. But these babies’ psychological, sexual and reproductive health is severely impaired.

“What happened in Kavumu and what is still going on in many other places in Congo, such as the rapes and massacres in Béni and Kasaï, was made possible by the absence of the rule of law, the collapse of traditional values and the reign of impunity, particularly for those in power. Rape, massacres, torture, widespread insecurity and a flagrant lack of education create a spiral of unprecedented violence.

“The human cost of this perverted, organized chaos has been hundreds of thousands of women raped, over 4 million people displaced within the country and the loss of 6 million human lives. Imagine, the equivalent of the entire population of Denmark decimated.

United Nations peacekeepers and experts have not been spared, either. Several of them have been killed on duty. Today, the United Nations Mission is still in the DRC to prevent the situation from degenerating further. We are grateful to them.

However, despite their efforts, this human tragedy will continue if those responsible are not prosecuted. Only the fight against impunity can break the spiral of violence.We all have the power to change the course of history when the beliefs we are fighting for are right.

“Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Your Excellencies, Distinguished members of the Nobel Committee, dear Madam Nadia Murad, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends of peace, It is in the name of the Congolese people that I accept the Nobel Peace Prize. It is to all victims of sexual violence across the world that I dedicate this prize. It is with humility that I come before you to raise the voice of the victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts and the hopes of my compatriots. I take this opportunity to thank everyone who, over the years, has supported our battle. I am thinking, in particular, of the organizations and institutions of friendly countries, my colleagues, my family and my dear wife Madeleine.

“My name is Denis Mukwege. I come from one of the richest countries on the planet. Yet the people of my country are among the poorest of the world. The troubling reality is that the abundance of our natural resources – gold, coltan, cobalt and other strategic minerals – is the root cause of war, extreme violence and abject poverty. We love nice cars, jewelry and gadgets. I have a smartphone myself. These items contain minerals found in our country. Often mined in inhuman conditions by young children, victims of intimidation and sexual violence. When you drive your electric car; when you use your smart phone or admire your jewelry, take a minute to reflect on the human cost of manufacturing these objects. As consumers, let us at least insist that these products are manufactured with respect for human dignity. Turning a blind eye to this tragedy is being complicit. It’s not just perpetrators of violence who are responsible for their crimes, it is also those who choose to look the other way.

“My country is being systematically looted with the complicity of people claiming to be our leaders. Looted for their power, their wealth and their glory. Looted at the expense of millions of innocent men, women and children abandoned in extreme poverty. While the profits from our minerals end up in the pockets of a predatory oligarchy.

“For twenty years now, day after day, at Panzi hospital, I have seen the harrowing consequences of the country’s gross mismanagement. Babies, girls, young women, mothers, grandmothers, and also men and boys, cruelly raped, often publicly and collectively, by inserting burning plastic or sharp objects in their genitals. I’ll spare you the details. The Congolese people have been humiliated, abused and massacred for more than two decades in plain sight of the international community. Today, with access to the most powerful communication technology ever, no one can say: “I didn’t know”.

“With this Nobel Peace Prize, I call on the world to be a witness and I urge you to join us in order to put an end to this suffering that shames our common humanity.

The people of my country desperately need peace.

But:

How to build peace on mass graves?

How to build peace without truth nor reconciliation?

How to build peace without justice nor reparation?

As I speak to you, a report is gathering mold in an office drawer in New York. It was drafted following a professional investigation into war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated in Congo. This investigation explicitly names the victims, the places and the dates, but leaves the perpetrators nameless.

This Mapping Report by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights describes no fewer than 617 war crimes and crimes against humanity and perhaps even crimes of genocide.

“What is the world waiting for before taking this into account? There is no lasting peace without justice. Yet, justice in not negotiable. Let us have the courage to take a critical and impartial look at what has been going on for too long in the Great Lakes Region. Let us have the courage to reveal the names of the perpetrators of the crimes against humanity to prevent them from continuing to plague the region. Let us have the courage to recognize our past mistakesLet us have the courage to tell the truth, to remember and commemorate. Dear Congolese compatriots, let us have the courage to take our destiny in our own hands. Let us build peace, build our country’s future, and together build a better future for Africa. No one else will do it for us.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends of peace, The picture I have painted for you depicts a dark reality.

But let me tell you Sarah’s story Sarah was referred to the hospital in critical condition. An armed group had attacked her village, massacred her whole family, and had left her alone. Sarah was taken to the forest as a hostage, and tied to a tree. Naked. Sarah was gang-raped every day until she lost consciousness.

“The aim of these rapes used as a weapon of war is to destroy the victim, her family and her community. In short, to destroy the social fabric. When she arrived at the hospital, Sarah could not walk or even stand on her feet. She could not control her bladder nor her bowels. Because of the seriousness of her genital, urinary and digestive injuries coupled with an infection, no one could imagine her one day being able to get back on her feet. Yet, with each passing day, the desire to continue to live sparkled in Sarah’s eyes. Every passing day, it was she who encouraged the medical staff not to lose hope. Today, Sarah is a beautiful, smiling, strong and charming woman. Sarah has committed herself to helping people who have survived a history like hers.

Sarah received fifty US dollars, a grant our Dorcas transit house gives to women who are ready to rebuild their lives socio-economically.

“Today, Sarah runs her small business. She has bought a plot of land. The Panzi Foundation has helped her with sheeting to make a roof. She has built a little house. She is independent and proud.

Her experience shows that, no matter how difficult and hopeless the situation, with determination there is always hope at the end of the tunnel. If a woman like Sarah does not give up, who are we to do so? This is Sarah’s story. Sarah is Congolese. But there are Sarahs in the Central African Republic, Colombia, Bosnia, Myanmar, Iraq and many other conflict-riven countries in the world.

“At Panzi, our holistic care programme – which includes medical, psychological, socio-economic and legal support – shows that even if the road to recovery is long and difficult, victims have the potential to turn their suffering into power. They can become agents of positive change in society. This is the case already at City of Joy, our rehabilitation centre in Bukavu where women receive support to regain control of their destiny. However, they cannot succeed on their own and our role is to listen to them, as today we listen to Madam Nadia Murad. Dear Nadia, your courage, your audacity, your ability to give us hope, are a source of inspiration for the entire world and for me personally.

“The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to us today will be of value only if it leads to concrete change in the lives of victims of sexual violence all over the world and the restoration of peace in our countries. So, what can we do? What can you do? First, it is incumbent upon all of us to act in this direction. Taking action is a choice. It is a choice:

– whether or not we stop violence against women,

– whether or not we create a positive masculinity which promotes gender equality, in times of peace and in times of war.

It is a choice:

- whether or not to support a woman,

– whether or not to protect her,

– whether or not to defend her rights,

– whether or not to fight on her side in countries ravaged by conflict.

It is a choice: whether or not to build peace in the countries in conflict.

“Taking action means saying ‘no’ to indifference.

If there is a war to be waged, it is the war against the indifference which is eating away at our societies. Second, we are all indebted to these women and their loved-ones and we must all take ownership of this fight; including states by ceasing to welcome leaders who have tolerated, or worse, used sexual violence to take power. States must stop welcoming them by rolling out the red carpet, and instead draw a red line against the use of rape as a weapon of war. This red line would consist of imposing economic and political sanctions on these leaders and taking them to court. Doing the right thing is not hard. It is a matter of political will. Third, we must acknowledge the suffering of the survivors of all acts of violence against women in armed conflicts and support their holistic recovery process.

“I insist on reparations: the measures that give survivors compensation and satisfaction and enable them to start a new life. It is a human right. I call on States to support the initiative to create a Global Fund for reparations for victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts. Fourth, on behalf of all widows, all widowers and orphans of the massacres committed in the DRC and all Congolese in love with peace, I call on the international community to finally consider the “Mapping Project report” and its recommendations. May justice prevail.

“This would allow the Congolese people to weep for their loved-ones, to mourn their dead, to forgive their torturers, to overcome their suffering and finally to project themselves into a serene future. Finally, after twenty years of bloodshed, rape and massive population displacements, the Congolese people are desperately awaiting implementation of the responsibility to protect the civilian population when their government cannot or does not want to do so. The people are waiting to explore the path to a lasting peace. To achieve peace, there has to be adherence to the principle of free, transparent, credible and peaceful elections.

“People of the Congo, let us get to work!” Let’s build a State at the heart of Africa where the government serves its people. A State under the rule of law, capable of bringing lasting and harmonious development not just of the DRC but of the whole of Africa, where all political, economic and social actions will be based on a people-centred approach to restore human dignity of all citizens.

“Your Majesties, Distinguished Members of the Nobel Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends of peace, The challenge is clear. It is within our reach. For all Sarahs, for all women, for all men and children of Congo, I call upon you not only to award this Nobel Peace Prize to my country’s people, but to stand up and together say loudly: The violence in the DRC, it’s enough! Enough is enough! Peace, now!”

Thank you.

The story of Dr. Mukengere’s response to the human atrocities he witnessed as a caring and compassionate physician is one of remarkable tenacity and courage in the face of formidable odds at considerable risk to his own personal safety. The message he conveyed in the body of his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech to his listeners was filled with remarkable moral clarity and integrity.

Friday, July 12, 2019

Oscar Arias Sanchez




Oscar Arias Sanchez, born September 13, 1940 in Costa Rica, was the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987. He studied law and economics at the University of Costa Rica in the nation’s capital, San Jose. He became involved in politics and joined the National Labor Party. On completion of this degree, he completed his post-graduate work in the UK with a doctorate – his graduate thesis was entitled, Who Rules Costa Rica. He was also a recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism and a trustee of Economists for Peace and Security. He also was also the author of a number of books including, The Significance of the Student Movement in Costa Rica.

During the 1970’s he joined the Social Democratic party and entered public office in that era. He ultimately was elected to the presidency in 1986 when political torment and disorder plagued the region of Central American including a deadly civil war that was raging in Nicaragua – a situation that was further exacerbated by the involvement of the United States seeking to maintain its global hegemony.

Sanchez sought to find a peaceful resolution to the turmoil that engulfed the region. As a consequence of his efforts, he designed a plan in 1978 that was ultimately approved by the governments of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. The goal of the strategy outlined in the plan was the implementation of free and fair elections, appropriate and verifiable safeguards for human rights and an end to foreign interference in the signatory countries internal affairs – this latter aspect of the agreement was particularly aimed at the United States government. In the process of formulating this agreement, Sanchez pushed back at the American government’s attempt to alter the peace plan that was signed in 1987. He also refused to grant permission to allow the United States to use Costa Rican territory to provide logistical support to the Contras.

The following is Oscar Arias Sánchez’s Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1987

“When you decided to honour me with this prize, you decided to honour a country of peace, you decided to honour Costa Rica. When in this year, 1987, you carried out the will of Alfred E. Nobel to encourage peace efforts in the world, you decided to encourage the efforts to secure peace in Central America. I am grateful for the recognition of our search for peace. We are all grateful in Central America.

“Nobody knows better than the honourable members of this Committee, that this prize is a sign to let the world know that you want to foster the Central American peace initiative. With your decision you are enhancing the possibilities of success. You are declaring how well you know the search for peace can never end, and how it is a permanent cause, always in need of true support from real friends, from people with courage to promote change in favour of peace, even against all odds.

“Peace is not a matter of prizes or trophies. It is not the product of a victory or command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement.

“Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions by many people in many countries. It is an attitude, a way of life, a way of solving problems and resolving conflicts. It cannot be forced on the smallest nation or enforced by the largest. It cannot ignore our differences or overlook our common interests. It requires us to work and live together.

“Peace is not only a matter of noble words and Nobel lectures. We have ample words, glorious words, inscribed in the charters of the United Nations, the World Court, the Organization of American States and a network of international treaties and laws. We need deeds that will respect those words, honour those commitments, abide by those laws. We need to strengthen our institutions of peace like the United Nations, making certain they are fully used by the weak as well as the strong.

“I pay no attention to those doubters and detractors unwilling to believe that a lasting peace can be genuinely embraced by those who march under a different ideological banner or those who are more accustomed to cannons of war than to councils of peace.

“We seek in Central America not peace alone, not peace to be followed someday by political progress, but peace and democracy, together, indivisible, an end to the shedding of human blood, which is inseparable from an end to the suppression of human rights. We do not judge, much less condemn, any other nation’s political or ideological system, freely chosen and never exported. We cannot require sovereign states to conform to patterns of government not of their own choosing. But we can and do insist that every government respect those universal rights of man that have meaning beyond national boundaries and ideological labels. We believe that justice and peace can only thrive together, never apart. A nation that mistreats its own citizens is more likely to mistreat its neighbours.

“To receive this Nobel prize on the 10th of December is for me a marvelous coincidence. My son Oscar Felipe, here present, is eight years old today. I say to him, and through him to all the children of my country, that we shall never resort to violence, we shall never support military solutions to the problems of Central America. It is for the new generation that we must understand more than ever that peace can only be achieved through its own instruments: dialogue and understanding; tolerance and forgiveness; freedom and democracy.

“I know well you share what we say to all members of the international community, and particularly to those in the East and the West, with far greater power and resources than my small nation could never hope to possess, I say to them, with the utmost urgency: let Central Americans decide the future of Central America. Leave the interpretation and implementation of our peace plan to us. Support the efforts for peace instead of the forces of war in our region. Send our people ploughshares instead of swords, pruning hooks instead of spears. If they, for their own purposes, cannot refrain from amassing the weapons of war, then, in the name of God, at least they should leave us in peace.

“I say here to His Majesty and to the honourable members of the Nobel Peace Committee, to the wonderful people of Norway, that I accept this prize because I know how passionately you share our quest for peace, our eagerness for success. If, in the years to come peace prevails, and violence and war are thus avoided; a large part of that peace will be due to the faith of the people of Norway, and will be theirs forever.”

As a testament to Sanchez’s effort towards peace, Costa Rica remains to this day a model for the transition to a peaceful and stable society.