Peace Quotes

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” Martin Luther King Jr.

“Anger is like gasoline. If you spray it around and somebody lights a match, you've got an inferno. [But] if we can put our anger inside an engine, it can drive us forward.” Scilla Elworthy 

"I was just trying to get to work." Rosa Parks

"I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children-not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women-not merely peace in our time but peace for all time." John F Kennedy

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." Robert F Kennedy

"Peace is its own reward" Mahatma Gandhi

“Peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice, of law, of order – in short, of government.” Albert Einstein

"So many guns around and so few brains." Humphrey Bogart

"Be at peace with yourself, if you are not at peace with yourself, you are at peace with nothing." Ron W. Rathbun

"Entre los individuos como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz" Benito Juarez 

"Peace is every step." Thich Nhat Hanh

"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind." Mahatma Gandhi

"Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind." John F Kennedy

"Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one." John Lennon

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix

"Education is, quite simply, peace-building by another name. It is the most effective form of defense spending there is." Kofi Annan

"Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world." Malala Yousafzai

Reference http://www.visionofhumanity.org/

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Peace in Liberia

Liberia is country in Africa. Liberia had civil war (2nd) broke out in 1999. By this war, many of the conflict has occur.

In this situation, Leymah Gbowee had the first doorstep to fulfill the dream of becoming a medical doctor and fighting erupted. 
Witnessing the effects of war on Liberians, she decided to train as a trauma counsellor to treat former child soldiers.

Leymah Gbowee had led a women's peace movement that brought end to the 2nd Liberian Civil War (2003). 
Leymah brought an inter religious coalition of Christian and Muslim women and organized the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement. 
She promote cross national peace building efforts and transform women's participation as victims in the crucible of war to mobilized armies for peace. 

This movement she had, absolutely headed peace for women and child. And led Liberia to have recovery of their sufferings.



Reference

• image - http://news.uic.edu

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Nobel Peace Prize winner to speak at Allentown college

She led a women's peace movement, stood up to politicians and warlords, helped bring an end to a civil war that had ravaged Liberia for four years and won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.

Now, Leymah Gbowee is visiting Cedar Crest College in Allentown to discuss her life in Liberia and show how she unified Muslim and Christian women across the country to help end the bloodshed.

Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist and winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, will speak 7 p.m. April 7 in the Samuels Theater as part of the college's Remiert Lecture Series.

"Leymah Gbowee is the type of strong-minded, independently thinking woman that we work to cultivate at our college," Cedar Crest College President Carmen Twillie Ambar said in a statement.

"I am excited to have her visit our campus next month," Ambar said. "I know she will inspire everyone who attends her lecture and teach us how together we can achieve the unimaginable."

The lecture is free to the public, but online reservations must be made in advance as seating is limited. Visit the college website, cedarcrest.edu, for more information.

Gbowee organized the women's peace movement that helped eventually lead to the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2005, making Liberia the first African country to have a female president.

Gbowee's women's peace movement, which contributed to the exile of warlord and former Liberian President Charles Taylor, included several nonviolent methods, including sex strikes, according to Cedar Crest College.

Gbowee discussed her life and efforts during the civil war in her autobiography, "Mighty Be Our Powers," which was read by first-year Cedar Crest students last fall and discussed in seminars, lectures and classes.

Gbowee is founder and current president of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, and also co-founder of the Liberia Reconciliation Initiative and Women Peace and Security Network Africa.

Reference

• http://www.lehighvalleylive.com

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We make Peace.

There are people out there, who is suffering. Nowadays, people see and hear about the news of sufferings in the world. And get to think "We need Peace", "Peace should happen fast".
But, I want to ask all the people who's hoping for peace.
"What actions must be done for true peace?"
Peace that we are hoping, doesn't happen by just hoping. There must be following actions to achieve it. What is the actions for true peace?
Think of Mother Teresa, people who is doing the actions for it. There are people who is working for peace who are unknown to others (or unknown works). And for that, I want to tell that we should pay attention to the work what they've done.


There are lots of people and relief-associations who are putting lot of efforts to achieve peace.
As for celebrities, There are many unknown relief activities. 

Leonardo DiCaprio established his own foundation called The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which raises environmental awareness. He donated 1 million dollars as a response to help those afflicted by the 2010 Haiti earthquake. DiCaprio is a member of the board of three environmental agencies: Natural Resources Defense Council, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and Global Green U.S.A.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt established the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which has donated millions globally. Jolie, herself, is a UN Goodwill Ambassador and has been on field missions in different parts of the world personally meeting with refugees. Pitt, on the other hand, works with Global Green U.S.A.

Selena Gomez was one among those who donated to the Celebrity Charity Sandy Relief Auction. Among her humanitarian involvement is Raise Hope for Congo which raises awareness against violence on Congolese women. Selena is the ambassador for DoSomething.org, and spokesperson both for the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and Borden Milk.

George Clooney, his humanitarian efforts in Darfur, Sudan caught the world's attention. And donated to the International Rescue Committee. After the destructive Haiti earthquake, together with MTV, George Clooney hosted a two-hour telethon to raise donations for the affected Haitians.

As for peace advocators, people have heard their names but not their works.

Well know advocator Nelson Mandela, had great works for relief movement in his life. He established the the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) and etc,. Nelson Mandela spent more than 67 years fighting for the rights of humanity. He had work for children and women in Africa. 

Lastly, theres one who is uprising as peace advocator, Man Hee Lee. As he is working privately, he is trying hard looking for children in difficult countries, to help as relief activity. These days, he had relief activities for Mayan and children in Africa.

There are still many people who is working for peace. But people doesn't know that. They are not familiar about the actions for peace. So, as for our homework, We should know how people are working to achieve it. And we should let the world know how they are working for true peace to be happen. 
Also for another homework, even it's not a huge thing, we should participate and join the actions together for it. Because without our effort, it will be meaningless when peace actually happens. 





Reference

• http://www.therichest.com
• http://www.islamic-relief.com

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The February 20 family reunions held between North and South Korean citizens represent a step in the direction of peace between the two nations.

Inside the South Korean Unification Ministry there sits a list of names of over 70,000 citizens who were separated from their family members in the North more than sixty years ago. When the Korean War came to a halt by way of ceasefire in 1953, the North and South became independent, but ideologically divided; and in so doing prevented all communication between families that had been split - literally down the middle at the 38th parallel.

On the 20th of February this year, however, the two states put aside their differences.

For the first time since 2010 they came together at the border that divides them to provide families with the opportunity to reunite.

One hundred citizens from North Korea, and another hundred of their relatives from the South met with each other, some for the first, and some for the last time, in the town of Panmunjom which straddles the states. For five days, relatives met every afternoon and were able to come to know those family members who had been absent from their lives. Two citizens from the South arrived by ambulance in order to take part in the meetings, while others in ill health exerted themselves beyond their capacity for this opportunity which they knew would not come again.

Once a family is chosen by random ballot to reunite, they are given only a single meeting. Reunions, which depend on the health of the relations between the Koreas are also infrequent, with less than 20 having taken place since 1985 when they were established. For many, the goodbye is necessarily final, and there is a growing worry that the majority of those who were alive throughout the Korean War will not live long enough to see their relatives again.

Although the road to good relations may be long for the two Koreas, the family reunions they have allowed to go forth in the last month represents a small step in the right direction.

In the late 1960’s, West and East Germany existed in a similar state, and a future of peace for the two countries looked unpromising. But in 1990, when East Germany elected to dissolve itself as an independent country and instead become part of the West, it was the result of tireless efforts for reunification on both sides: efforts that were started by the small gesture of familial reunification. Today, less than 30 years later, Germany is a decisive and most importantly a peaceful country, and one that leads its region and the world in economic and social spheres. Those who have no confidence in a future of peace for North and South Korea should be reassured by Germany’s example.

The reconciliatory spirit demonstrated by the Korean family reunifications of this past February are also indicative of the tangible presence of the Pillars of Peace - a conceptual framework designed by the Institute for Economics and Peace that explains how attitudes, institutions, and structures can build and support peace in society. In particular, the family reunifications in Korea are strongly related to ‘Acceptance of the Rights of Others’, a Pillar that describes the ways in which respect for diversity in society builds stronger community ties, which in turn encourages resilience in the case of external shocks (such as the Global Financial Crisis) and closer ties between individuals and groups, that work to prevent the outbreak of violent conflict.

Ultimately, even informal social acceptance within communities builds peace between individuals, which can then transform into group, and state level peace - even if the process starts with only one family at a time.

Changes in Peace: North and South Korea

Levels of peace in North and South Korea are almost at opposite ends of the spectrum. South Korea is among the top 50 most peaceful countries, ranked 47th of 162 countries on the 2013 Global Peace Index (GPI); while North Korea is one of the ten least peaceful countries, along with conflict ridden countries such as Somalia, Syria, Iraq and the Central African Republic.

North Korea is ranked 1st worldwide for violence containment spending, meaning that it spends more on preventing and containing violence than any other country in the world. According to the Economic Cost of Violence Containment, North Korea spends 27.5% of GDP on violence containment, which reached a total of US$10,980 million in 2012.

Compare levels of peace in North Korea and South Korea.

Reference

• http://www.visionofhumanity.org

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Creative Growth - William Scott - Peace Worlds

Pharrell William's "Happy" music video is one of my favorite today. And I got to know he's amazing work "i am OTHER". This video -that i posted up above- is one of the video from 'i am OTHER' youtube channel. 

Well, I think this video is truly inspiring. It shows pure heart of William Scott, how he's thinking for World Peace. I think that is something needed for starting peace. Such a beautiful soul. And amazing artwork!

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