Excerpts
from Speak Truth To Power
"In 1991, many of my friends decided to leave the country,
but I felt I had to stay and fight the policies of war itself."
- Natasa Kandic "Physical bravery is rare on the battlefield; rarer still
is the bravery it takes to stand up against one's own government, or against
one's own community, including family, friends and professional colleagues,
all in the pursuit of justice."
- Kerry Kennedy Cuomo on Natasa Kandic. Ms. Kandic, a Serb, investigated
the policies of "ethnic cleansing," concentration camps, rape camps and
other violations of human rights that were commited by her own and other
ethinic groups of the former Yugoslavia: Croats, Muslims, Kosovar Albanians,
and Romas. The founder of the Humanitarian Law Center, she is a "legal
pioneer in bringing claims against the Serbian an Montenegran governments,"
(Kennedy Cuomo). Despite the extreme danger involved, Ms. Kandic provides
legal help to victims of war before courts of law. The courageous efforts
of the Humanitarian Law Center has captured the attention of the War Crimes
Tribunal (which researches human rights abuses in wartime), and they rely
on her work to bring war criminals to justice. Additionally, Ms. Kandic
has organized the Candles for Peace campaign in 1991, and she continues
to bring about justice through a myriad of efforts. "...Her work for peace
and tolerance in the former Yugoslavia will be remembered long after the
last guns sound there."
- Kennedy Cuomo
"When you start doing this work, you do it with a very pure heart, out
of compassion... The clarity of what you ought to do gives you courage,
removes the fear, gives you the courage to ask. There is so much you do
not know. And you need to know more."
-Wangari Maathai founded the Greenbelt Movement on Earth Day, 1977 in
an effort to provide a sustainable food supply without pollutants or impurities
for her people in Kenya. Denouncing President Daniel arap Moi's plans
to erect a sixty two story skyscraper over Nairobi's largest park made
Maathai a victim of threats and harassment. Successful in her efforts
to get the proposed plans shelved, Maatha became a victim again as she
continued her fight against her government's injustice, bravely rallying
on behalf of political prisoners. Beaten by pro-government thugs, and
told to behave "like a woman should," Maathai persevered and continued
her efforts to preserve the environment, protect women's rights, and fight
for democratic reform.
"War, and the preparation for war, are the two greatest obstacles to human
progress. The poor of the world are crying out for schools and doctors,
not guns and generals."
- Oscar Arias
Sanchez has been a constant emissary for peace throughout Central America.
While he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for ending conflict in the
region, Arias Sanchez brokered a peaceful solution facing a very powerful
cold war battle that was fueled behind the scenes by opposing military
aid from the Russians and from the United States. He remains a crusader
against poverty and all of the inequities that flow from being poor.
"The world's problems seem to be only problems that you watch on TV, then
you go on having dinner, and then you go to sleep... We cannot say that
I only take account of what happens in my country, and whatever is not
happening in my country, what happens beyond the borders does not affect
me."
- Baltasar Garzon has made a career of taking on cases against government
corruption, organized crime, terrorists, state antiterrorism units and
drug lords. The protector of those who suffer at the hands of dictators
around the world, Baltasar is well known for his legal crusade against
Augusto Pinochet, who commited human rights violations on a massive scale
during his reign of terror in Chile. Dedicated to bringing about justice,
Baltasar Garzon has given hope to those who live under a dictatorship.
|
