Today, August 19, is called WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY

What a beautiful thing to say….

Here´s a story I was told the other day:

X,  a 12-year-old boy lived with his parents in a very small country village.

They worked on the local sugarcane plantations, 8 hours a day

The boy was a little mentally ill

One day,the village´s first school was opened

All parents and their children went to the opening

When X´s parents took him to school,he was not allowed to go inside

His parents asked the schoolteacher to let him in: he had never caused anyone any harm

At the schooldoor, which was being locked in so he wouldn´t go inside,

X shouted: I just want to study and play. Just want to study and play

The community acted NONhumanitarianly: X could not enjoy his right to education….

Now, X goes to a Children´s Care Center in a city 60 miles from his village. There, he´s cared for by psychologists, social workers, and educators

WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY, WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY, what a beautiful thing to say…

How many NON-HUMANITARIAN ways are experienced by human beings and animals on a daily basis?
We tend to prioritize HUMANITARIANS,but what actions do we take against NON-HUMANITARIANS, DEHUMANIZERS, HUMILIATORS?

Stories like X´s should lead us to say :
May HUMANKIND LEARN TO BE HUMANITARIAN every day

By Francesco Gomes de Matos, a peace linguist from Recife, Brazil.

(received August 19, 2010)