October 4th, 2014: coincidences that encourage reflection

And to give hands rather than raise them. Today is: the day of Hidal Hidjah, the Islamic "feast of sacrifice".

                                                                                              : Yom Kippur Day,

the “pardon day” of the Jewish.

                                                                                              : the Day of Saint Francis

the holy “Pope’s Day”.

The first two festivals coincide only every 60 years! ... Needles to say if we have the holy Pope’s Day.

Yesterday in Granollers, a victim city from the horror of war as Gernika, in an excellent session on promoting the culture of peace and non-violence in the cities of the Mediterranean, organized by the tireless concord and reconciliation promoter Mayor Josep Mayoral, Meir Margalit, a citizen of Jerusalem, highlighted these coincidences and urged, with a superb argument of his exemplary career, to take advantage of them for encounter, listening, conversation...

For the great pending transition, possible today, from force to word.

October 17th – The World Day against Hunger

The mobilization and protest against the immense injustice of poverty should be determined and constant.  Let’s make the World Day for the Eradication of Extreme Poverty a daily reference of action, of mobilization.

Make it a daily reason to get up early and guide our behaviour: it is unacceptable that everyday thousands of people, mostly children from one to five years, die of hunger, exclusion and abandonment while over 3 billion dollars are invested in weapons and military spending.

"I feigned not knowing / ... and now my conscience remains / sleepless / night and day”. We know. And we will make the struggle against social injustice, exclusion and poverty our permanent reason for living. Zero poverty!

Jean Ziegler says, "hunger is the most active and dreadful weapon of mass destruction." We are well prepared, with great benefits for producers of military devices, for protection against potential enemies. We are not facing hunger, extreme poverty and diseases that affect only to those living in inhumane conditions. The solution is to share, is to look after the key priorities that an effective democratic multilateralism may establish and seek: food, water, health, environment, education and peace...

Instead of increasing development aid, instead of contributing to national and international relevant supports, the appropriate grants have been "cut back" -what a shame!-... in Europe and in Spain as well as in the United Nations’ Program for Development. It is obvious that there is nothing to expect from the plutocratic groups who have imposed the globalizing neoliberalism.

The time for silence is over. Now we can express ourselves freely. Let us join our voices to demand justice for the victims, of those who survive in extremely precarious conditions.

“No one left behind. Think, decide and act together against extreme poverty" is the motto of ATD Quart Monde. Keep all together with NGOs and other national and international institutions in order to relieve and heal the situation of many of our brothers.

Pathetic forecast: Republican victory in the United States

“The democrats reach late the legislative elections of the United States in spite of the economic recovery.  The republicans aim to take control of the United States Senate in November (“El País”, 10.14.14).

Those who have severely opposed to medicare and to the incorporation as full citizens of millions of migrants; who have not allowed to subscribe -the unique country- the Convention on Human Rights of Children; those who have impeded  that United States supports the International Criminal Court; who, in summary, originated the globalizing neoliberalism that has replaced the ethic principles by the markets and the United Nations by plutocratic groups; those who represent the largest percentage of 85 persons that according to OXFAM have a comparable wealth to half of humanity (3,300 millions); the most powerful military, financial, media, energetic and digital “great domain”; those who continue impassive in favour of the death penalty... once again could displace democrats from the power in the United States.

That is not at all what we needed!” Let’s hope that millions of citizens all over the world react on time and express their rejection in person or through cyberspace.