Ending Human Violence Is A Task For Each Of Us

By Robert J. Burrowes-April 7, 2016

Do you think that ending human violence is impossible? Do you believe that even aiming to do so is unrealistic? Well, you might be right. But you might also be interested to know that there are a lot of people around the world who are committed to trying. And, if you think the aim is worthwhile, you could be one of them.

The most casual perusal of the media will confirm what most of us suspect: violence takes many forms and it is absolutely pervasive. But what the media might not report regularly is that there are some phenomenal people and organizations out there that are doing everything they can to tackle one or more aspects of this violence. And as they identify themselves as part of one or more worldwide networks working on violence, they acquire a fuller appreciation of what is being achieved.

Let me tell you about one such network – ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World’http://thepeoplesnonviolencecharter.wordpress.com – which has participants in 93 countries who are committed to developing and implementing nonviolent solutions to each and every violent problem in our world. Some of these people work locally, some work nationally, some work regionally and some work globally. Some work on domestic violence, some are working to end war, some are tackling exploitation and poverty, some work on national liberation struggles and some work on one or more environmental issues. But each of them is committed to developing a way out of the violent mess in which we now find ourselves. Here are some of them.

Zaure Khizatolla lives in Kazakhstan. Motivated since a young age by her ‘mission in life’, she has sought to answer the question ‘What should I do to make the World better?’ Well, Zaure is now a mother, lawyer, poet, writer and peacemaker and in each of these roles she seeks to reduce the violence in our world. As a poet, for example, she is highly productive and among her many poems she has written 153 about love! You can read her poems herehttp://www.stihi.ru/avtor/zaureha and read more about Zaure and see some photos of her here. http://www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=466

Enrique Ramirez Guier of Costa Rica is a biologist whose work is focused on terrestrial and marine ecology projects in Costa Rica, several other countries in Central and South America and beyond. From 2003-2008 he was Executive Director of the Tropical Science Center in Costa Rica, a not-for-profit NGO established in 1962 for natural resource management, private conservation of natural resources, environmental assessment and management planning, project development and implementation, and environmental education. His responsibilities in this position included management supervision of 5 biological preserves, including the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, which is the world’s best known, and iconic, cloud forest and home to a staggering 2.5% of world biodiversity! If you like, you can see something about this beautiful cloud forest here.http://www.cloudforestmonteverde.com/

Australian Anahata Giri is a yoga and meditation teacher who remains committed to practising nonviolent parenting as part of her personal pledge to making our world nonviolent. If this sounds obvious and easy, you might find it more challenging after reading her brilliant article ‘I have never punished my child: parenting for a nonviolent world’.https://www.transcend.org/tms/2015/11/i-have-never-punished-my-child-parenting-for-a-nonviolent-world/

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