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Ms. Kennedy-Cuomo
began to recognize that the privileges that she had taken for granted
as an U.S. citizen were denied to others in different parts of the world.
"While I was able to sit in an office in Washington and go talk to my
legislators and make phone calls, and have positive experiences, my colleagues
who were doing that in other countries were being imprisoned and tortured
and sacrificing their lives. I really thought that they were the heroes
of the day. They were the Martin Luther Kings of their countries. They
showed extraordinary feats of bravery and a history of bravery, accomplishment,
and had changed their societies. I felt inspired to change my life, to
direct my life to work on international human rights."
In writing this
book, Kennedy Cuomo hopes to share what became "a spiritual journey with
wisdom on every page," and encourage people to act up when they see injustice
in their own back yard. She contends that there are many human rights
battles to be fought in the United States. "We should ban the death penalty,
stop racial profiling in police stations, stop and frisk procedures, insure
that prisoners are afforded basic human rights and people who are in detention
in the US should be afforded basic human rights, particularly people seeking
asylum."
The book encompasses
people fighting for a wide variety of different causes; usually relating
to upholding the United Nation's Universal Declaration on Human Rights
and other covenant documents. Ms. Kennedy Cuomo believes that the United
Nations stands for the belief that all people around the world can find
a way of working together to prevent evil from occurring.
"I view
the UN as the antidote to cynicism and des-pair. I brought my 5 year old
to the UN. We walked up to where there is a wonderful statue of Saint
George on a horse killing a dragon. The dragon is completely made up of
armaments and weapons of war. Another statue is of a handgun with the
barrel twisted into a knot. I think that these statues are symbolic of
what the UN stands for, an end to violence and evil."
While the UN may
be the watch dog on the preservation of human rights, Kennedy Cuomo is
quick to admit that no country has a perfect record. "We are not saying
that we have all the answers, and that we are superior to you. We are
saying, we are all struggling, we all need to make improvements. We welcome
you to come to our country and help us to improve the way we treat people,
and we demand the same from you."
It is her strong
desire to bring this message to as many kids as possible so that they
can "see the truth and understand that the truth will triumph." Because
human rights defenders are articulating the ambitions of their countrymen,
Ms. Kennedy-Cuomo believes that it is up to "The media to expand its coverage
of their issues. CNN has been revolutionary in bringing home to people
around the world up to the minute abuses of human rights as they happen.
As a result, the public became invested in both the disaster and the triumph
of many of these human rights activists."
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