Autor: pacifista

Open Secrets, Unspoken Arrangements–Who Benefits, Who Pays the Price  “That’s what they all say,”  whispered a young Filipina to her older companion in their native tongue. I heard the remark and understood its implication.  She thought I  was lying. We sat across each other in a four-seater on a local train in Belgium in 1992.…

What started as a small protest in Madrid to defend an 87 year old woman who is violently expelled from her appartment where she lived since she was 17 years old, in only one day grows out to a nation wide mobilisation against the might of housing corporates who bring the prize of housing rents…

Keynote Address on Peace and Integral Regeneration: Congressman Atty. Mauricio Domogan addresses university officials, World March for Peace delegates, faculty, peace advocates, and students at Baguio Central University during the 4th World March for Peace and Integral Regeneration with ASEAN Festival. In his speech, he highlighted the vital role of education and core institutional values…

On October 9, only hours after the announcement of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, a former judge on the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Trump administration imposed its latest sanctions on the global judicial body. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “we will ban transactions with this rogue court,…

Three ways of understanding violence — and why the distinctions matter for nonviolence. Can violence exist without leaving a bruise? As explored in an earlier Pressenza article, the answer seems obvious when considering domestic abuse, coercive control, racial discrimination or economic exploitation. Violence is not confined to somebody hitting, shooting or physically injuring another person.…

Pressenza has chosen to publish this email sent by a Chilean humanist to a French humanist, offering an insightful reflection on the forms and meaning of youth protests in France. » Dear friend,  after reading your comments and comparing them with the news circulating about what’s happening these days, I think there’s an important point:…

The Nobel Peace Prize has just been awarded to Navi Pillay who is not, like last year’s laureate, pleading for the world’s largest military to attack her country. Nor is she, in the manner of various past laureates, waging war. Nor is she, like various past recipients, an admirable humanitarian working in a field unrelated to…

On 5 October, the Czech Republic commemorated the 90th anniversary of the birth of Václav Havel, a playwright, essayist, dissident and the first president of the independent Czech Republic. He was born on 5 October 1936 and was one of the leading figures of the Czechoslovak dissident movement. After November 1989, he became head of…

On October 4, the 41st Anniversary Ceremony of the New England Peace Pagoda was solemnly observed, with some 200 people in attendance. The forecast had called for rain, but the day turned out partly cloudy with sunny spells: neither hot nor cold, and altogether fine weather. Native American opening prayer and dance, led by longtime…