International

There are times when Latin American magical realism falls short in describing what has occurred, as happened on the Rumichaca bridge on the border between Colombia and Ecuador, when Juanes and Rafael de la Rubia were preparing to hand over the World March for Peace and Non-Violence flag to the Ecuadorian singer Juan Fernando Velasco.

In 2009 Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented human rights violations against migrant women, men, and children in every region of the world, publishing dozens of materials, including 14 reports. This issue is treated by the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers ratified by 42 countries since the UN adoption on December 18, 1990

From the early hours of the morning, Colombia’s national television channels were announcing the arrival of the World March to the South American continent, while the city of Bogota was waking up to the this event. Towards midday members of the international team were welcomed at the airport with dance, music and a lot of human warmth.

In Bogotá, a huge crowd, all dressed in white, took part in a 3-hour march to show their support for the World March for Peace and Non-Violence. The people of Bogotá marched to show their desire and longing to live together in peace, without the threat of violence that directly affects their families and gives such a distorted image of this warm, friendly country.

The humanist organisation ‘Convergence of Cultures’ is carrying out an international campaign for solidarity with Aminatau Haidar, the Western Saharan who has been on hunger strike in defence of the rights of her people. The campaign demands that the authorities concerned comply with both UN resolutions and human rights.

And this is powerfully resonant in Latin America. In other words, people feel the tremendous violence of the impossibility to live in minimal living conditions that equate to a decent life. And the worst of the situation is the injustice of the distribution of resources that cause suffering to a huge majority of people and is accepted as “the norm”.

Obama attempted to justify his concepts of “just war” and “just peace” in a tense speech that veered between the idea that “war is sometimes necessary” and the idea that “war is an expression of human error”; between his ideals of non-violence inspired by Luther King and his role as Commander in Chief of a country whose army is currently embroiled in two wars.

Rafael de la Rubia, international spokesman for the World March for peace and non-violence, wanted to celebrate the International Day for Human Rights. He is doing so from El Salvador, where he is currently with the World March Base Team. In a press release, he proposes that the right to peace be considered a human right.

More than sixty percent of Bolivians have decided that Evo Morales should continue to lead Bolivia’s social, political and cultural transformation process. This categorical support of Evo´s government takes place in spite of the act that the great majority of the print and tv media are constantly campaigning with venom against Evo.

Different residents from the communities of San Marcos walked with the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. The residents made their concerns known to the Base Team of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence about acts committed by the transnational company Union Fenosa in the department of San Marcos in Guatemala.