The Earth in travail From consumers - Share Internationalshare-international.org/magazine/s2609.pdf · The Earth in travail by the Master ... hurt and so restore to health his ailing

1SHARE INTERNATIONALVOL. 26, NO. 9 — NOVEMBER 2007

The Earth in travailby the Master —

The hidden costs ofcheap foodby Mark Sommer

From consumersto caretakersInterview with Vandana Shivaby Jason Francis

Nobel Prize for Peace 2007:

Gore’s win a triumphfor planet

White Paper for apeaceful Middle EastInterview with André Azoulayby Andrea Bistrich

Vol. 26, No. 9 — November 2007

2 SHARE INTERNATIONALVOL. 26, NO. 9 — NOVEMBER 2007

SHAREINTERNATIONAL

Contents

This month’s authorsBenjamin Creme is the British chief editor ofShare International, an artist and an esotericistfor many years.His telepathic contact with a Master of Wisdomallows him to receive up-to-date information onthe Christ’s emergence and to expand on theAgeless Wisdom Teachings.The Master — is a senior member of the Hier-archy of the Masters of Wisdom; His name,well-known in esoteric circles, is not yet beingrevealed for various reasons. BenjaminCreme is in constant telepathic contact with thisMaster Who dictates His articles to him.

2b Benjamin Creme —lectures and tours

3 The Earth in travailby the Master —

4 Point of view:The hidden costs ofcheap foodby Mark Sommer

5 From consumers to caretakersInterview with Vandana Shivaby Jason Francis

9 Trends:Gore calls for GlobalMarshall Plan

11 Israeli youth rebel againstarmy serviceInterview with Lior Volynitzby Aleš Kustec

13 Voice of the people:Worldwide rallies for Darfur

15 Signs of the time:UFO in British Colombia,Canada

17 Maitreya’s priorities:New UN document onIndigenous Rights

19 White Paper for apeaceful Middle EastInterview with André Azoulayby Andrea Bistrich

21 Facts and forecasts:Gore’s win a triumph for planet

24 Letters to the editor:Repeat appearance

26 Questions and answers

[ISSN 0169-1341]“Everyone has the right to a standard of living ad-equate for the health and well-being of himself andhis family, including food, clothing, housing, andmedical care and necessary social services, and theright to security in the event of unemployment, sick-ness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack oflivelihood in circumstances beyond their control.”(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25)

Editor:Benjamin Creme (London)

Editorial staff, contributors, correspondents:Canada: Diana Holland; Germany: AndreaBistrich; The Netherlands: Felicity Eliot, ErikHutter; New Zealand: Shirley Nairn; Spain: CarmenFont; United Kingdom: Gill Fry, Janet Lenton,Patricia Pitchon, Phyllis Power; United States:Monte Leach

Editorial office (letters/questions to editor):PO Box 3677, London NW5 1RU, UK

Mailing address Share International: POBox 41877, 1009 DB Amsterdam, Holland.

Production and administration:SI teams in Amsterdam, London and Los Angeles

Printed by:www.drukpartners.nl, Diemen, The Netherlands

Share International is published monthly, ex-cept bi-monthly in January/February and July/Au-gust of each year, by SHARE INTERNATIONALFOUNDATION, a non-profit, non-governmentalorganization.

Share International also appears in Japanese.Abridged versions are available monthly in Dutch,French, German, Slovenian and Spanish. A Polishversions is published periodically.

Articles in SI may contain either British or Amer-ican spelling and punctuation, depending upon theauthor’s preference. Figures in billions refer to USbillions, i.e. 1,000 million.

Contributors to this publication and those who havebeen interviewed or quoted do not necessarily en-dorse Benjamin Creme’s statements about the pres-ence of Maitreya the World Teacher, or the associ-ated esoteric ideas.

While we publish articles which we believe willinterest and enlighten our readers, we do not nec-essarily endorse every idea expressed in them.

© Share International.

The reproduction of articles in any form from ShareInternational requires written permission whichwill not be unreasonably withheld.

The picture reproduced on the cover – Flame-coloured Deva – was painted by Benjamin Cremebetween 1976 and 1977. The Deva or Angelicevolutions are parallel to that of the human andof infinite variety and colour, from subhuman tosuperhuman. Many work in a direct healing andprotective relation to humanity.

Yearly subscriptions:US$30, £24.00, or EUR 32.50.

Andrea Bistrich is a Share International co-worker based in Munich, Germany.Jason Francis is a Share International co-worker based in Massachusetts, USA.Aleš Kustec is a Share International co-workerbased in Ljutomer, Slovenia.Mark Sommer, host of the award-winning radioprogramme A World of Possibil it ies(www.aworldofpossibilities.com), is an authorand internationally syndicated columnist who di-rects the Mainstream Media Project, a US-based initiative to bring new voices and view-points to the broadcast media.


•

It may be said that at last some men are beginning to

take seriously the dangers posed by global warming

and the consequent climate changes that this is

bringing about. It is true that there is much

disagreement over the reality and extent of the

dangers, and of the best means of approaching the

problems which are agreed to exist. However, there

is no doubt that some men, at least, are recognizing

that men face a formidable task in halting the

progress of destruction and in stabilizing the

environment. It is also true that even the most aware

and concerned of men know little of the extent and

complexity of the problems.

The problem of pollution is such a case. Pollution

takes many forms, some obvious and easily dealt

with, if the will to do so exists. Some, however,

require a science and a remedy as yet unknown to

man; they are so toxic and destructive that they must

be given high priority to overcome. The effect of

pollution on the quality of air, food, on animals, and

on fish, in rivers and the oceans, is known but largely

ignored. The most destructive of all, that caused by

nuclear radiation, awaits discovery by Earth

scientists. The upper levels of nuclear radiation are

beyond the present atomic technology. They are also

the most toxic and hazardous to man and the lower

kingdoms. On all those levels the problems of

pollution must be overcome. This can be achieved

only by a complete reconstruction of the present

political, economic and social structures.

Man has ravaged and polluted the Earth, and

severely damaged his own environment. Now man

must see it as a top priority to remedy what he has

hurt and so restore to health his ailing planet. He

must learn to simplify his demands on the planet

and learn the beauty of simplicity and the joy of

sharing.

Man has but little choice: the urgency of the task

demands immediate action; few indeed realize the

true scale of damage already done. The question may

be asked: can planet Earth be saved and by what

means?

The answer is a resounding YES! and by means

which involve the transformation of the present

modes of living by the majority of men.

The paramount ambition of all so-called

‘developed’ countries is to achieve an ever higher

percentage of growth of their economies to become,

thereby, richer; and, in an economic world based on

competition, to attain dominance and power, and so

enjoy a higher standard of life. This being so, the

pillaging of the Earth, the cavalier waste of

resources, is seen as only natural and necessary. This

irresponsible action has at last brought planet Earth

almost to its knees.

Urgent

Maitreya, you can be sure, will not be long in

addressing this urgent problem and in presenting His

solutions. The first step, He will advocate, is the

acceptance of the urgency which many today deny.

Sharing, He will say, is the beginning of the process

of change which will provide the answers to our woes

and the rehabilitation of Earth.

The Earth in travailby the Master —, through Benjamin Creme, 14 October 2007


POINT OF VIEW

Arcata, California — As a percentage oftheir personal income, Americans pay lessfor food than the people of any other nationon earth. But the costs of that cheap foodare considerable, not only for their ownhealth but for the health, safety, wages andworking conditions of the largely migrantlabour that plants, harvests, and processesthat food.

The industrial agriculture system thatsupplies this cheap food is predicated oncheap labour, lax enforcement of alreadyweak labour regulations, often hazardousworking conditions, and physical and sexualabuse that in extreme cases has been lik-ened to modern-day slavery.

In some respects conditions for migrantworkers remain little better than those docu-mented by journalist Edward R. Murrow ahalf century ago in his classic TV special‘Harvest of Shame’, which revealed the ex-istence of a hitherto hidden underclass ofmigrant workers who endured substandardhousing and sanitation, abysmal workingconditions, and exploitation of many kindsin the course of harvesting tomatoes in mid-50s Immokalee, Florida. There as elsewherein the US, rootless immigrants, largely fromCentral America, plant and harvest cropsthey themselves can’t afford to buy.

Now the very same region is the sceneof an epic struggle by migrant workers fordecent working and living conditions and aliveable wage. Immokalee is the state’s larg-est farmworker community and the mostimportant centre of agricultural production.Field labourers here pick crops on vast hold-ings owned and operated by giant multina-tional corporations. It’s been the same fordecades: long hours of back-bending labour,staying in substandard housing, exposedto toxic pesticides, isolated by language,and exploited by labour bosses preying ontheir vulnerabilities.

Migrant labour has always been a hardrow to hoe. Workers live an average of just49 years; the US average is 78. The medianannual income of migrant workers is justUS$7,500, 6,500 in Florida; the median UShousehold income is US$48,000. Adjustedfor inflation, migrant labour income has

fallen by 60 per cent in the past 20 years.Each year 20,000 farmworkers require medi-cal treatment for acute pesticide poisoningand many more cases go unreported. Na-tionally, 50 per cent of migrants – 80 percent in Florida – lack legal work papers.

While Florida farmers are paid US$10 per25-pound box of tomatoes, the tomato pick-ers are paid 45 cents per 32-pound bucket,less than 5 per cent of what the farmer gets.To earn $50 a picker must harvest 2.5 tonnesin a typical 10-hour day, twice as much as 30years ago, just to earn the same minimumwage.

Yet the farmer is not the big winner inthis system. Fast food chains with enormousbuying power exert intense downward pres-sure on the prices they are willing to payfarmers, who in turn squeeze workers to re-tain their own profit margin.

Facing these grim realities, in the early1990s a small group of workers who calledthemselves the Coalition of Immokalee Work-ers (CIW) began organizing in a localchurch. Through work stoppages, generalstrikes, a month-long hunger strike, and a230-mile march, in 1998 the Immokaleefarmworkers won industry-wide raises of 13-25 per cent. Meanwhile, CIW began cam-paigning against what it calls ‘’modern-dayslavery’’, farm operations in Southeasternstates where workers labour in conditions afederal prosecutor labelled ‘’involuntaryservitude’’.

In a series of highly-publicized cam-paigns targeting major fast-food chains thatdepend in part on Immokalee’s tomato har-vest, CIW organizers succeeded in persuad-ing Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s andother corporations to commit to a penny-a-pound raise for Immokalee labourers. BurgerKing (BK) refused to join the agreement,arguing that farmers are actually paying morethan the workers say. BK would like a morecomprehensive settlement that gives work-ers better working conditions while assur-ing the company and industry of consist-ent prices and a stable workforce. BK hasoffered to employ in its own operations anyfarmworker who would like to change occu-pations, an offer Immokalee workers dismiss

as ‘’eliminating farmworker poverty by elimi-nating farmworkers’’.

Most Americans don’t want to do suchbackbreaking work but few are aware of theworking and living conditions of those whodo. However, redressing the inequities ofthe current industrial food production sys-tem is not easy. To begin with, it’s hard tomake sure that extra money spent in thesupermarket will filter down the foodchain to the migrant labourers at the bot-tom.

The poorest and weakest work longestand hardest and receive the last and least.To provide a living wage to those at thebottom will take more than a piecework ratehike. It will require a systemic shift, withthose of us higher on the food chain pullingit hard in the direction of those at the bot-tom. Not only must farmworkers be paid liv-ing wages for their labour and farmers a fairreturn on their crops, but governmentalregulations must bring farm labour practicesup to global human rights standards.

This is not just an American problem. Inan increasingly integrated global food sys-tem, affluent consumers in North America,Europe and elsewhere have come to expectlow prices for foods from far away and farout of season with great hidden costs infuel and transportation, environmental dev-astation, worker exploitation, and socialconflict. Much of the food that comes toour tables is grown and harvested by mar-ginal farmers in distant places who receivea tiny portion of what we pay for it. Drivenfrom the land by impossibly low commodityprices, they crowd the cities of the develop-ing world in search of work. Failing to findit, their desperation becomes a breedingground for extremist movements. Ourabundance must not be built on their in-digence.

Automaker Henry Ford, a self-interestedcapitalist, understood this elementary prin-ciple when he insisted on paying his work-ers enough for them to buy the cars theybuilt. How much are we willing to pay forthe food we eat to ensure that those whoselabour brings it to our tables are paid enoughto eat it too? (© IPS)

The hidden costs of cheap foodby Mark Sommer

•


Vandana Shiva is a physicist, environmen-tal activist, and author of numerous books.Her most recent book is Earth Democracy:Justice, Sustainability, and Peace (pub-lished by South End Press, 2005). VandanaShiva is a founding board member of thenongovernmental organization Interna-tional Forum on Globalization based inSan Francisco, USA, and director of theResearch Foundation for Science, Technol-ogy and Ecology based in New Delhi, In-dia.

Dr Shiva has led campaigns that sup-port fair and sustainable agricultural prac-tices, biodiversity, ecology and genderequality. She was awarded the Right Live-lihood Award in 1993 and is a leader inthe Global Justice Movement – an interna-tional network of organizations and move-ments working toward the equitable dis-tribution of the world’s resources. She isbased in New Delhi, India. Jason Francisinterviewed Vandana Shiva for Share In-ternational.

Share International: What are the princi-ples of Earth Democracy?Vandana Shiva: The first principle is the rec-ognition that we are, first and foremost, chil-

SI: Could you describe your idea of thethree major economies active in the world,and how they relate to each other andEarth Democracy?VS: When we think of economy we thinkonly of the market and through that the glo-bal market – this is a supermarket model ofthe economy, based on seeing ourselves asconsumers, not as co-creators with nature.The two bigger economies on which liferests are the economy of nature, producingfar more than human production can everproduce, whether it is through the pollina-tion of insects or the recycling of water, thehydrological cycle. The second majoreconomy is the economy where we producefor our basic needs: the water we need, thefood we need to eat, the shelter we need forprotection from too much heat and too muchcold. In this sustenance economy, the peo-ple’s economy, children get looked after, theold and ill get looked after; there are no dis-posable people. But in the market economy97 per cent of humanity is actually dispos-able.

In a sustainable system the biggesteconomy is nature; the second biggest isthe sustenance economy where humanitysustains and rejuvenates itself as a commu-

nity, a social network. And then the small-est part actually is the market economy. Rightnow in the market economy, measured interms of finance alone, there’s a trillion dol-lars of money moving around the globe daily,which is 70 times more than all of the goodsproduced by humanity. So we have moremoney than the resources and goods thatmoney can command. But this growth in thefictitious financial world is at the cost of thedestruction of nature’s economy – one ofthe most dramatic examples being the de-struction of the Amazonian rainforest togrow soybeans to fuel our cars. It’s also atthe cost of destroying the sustenanceeconomy, which is based on self-organiza-tion, caring, family and community. And asthe market economy grows, particularly thefinancial market economy, nature’seconomy and the sustenance economyshrink. The shrinkage of nature’s economyis what we call the ecological crisis. Theshrinkage in the people’s economy is whatwe would call both the poverty crisis as wellas the human alienation crisis.

SI: You have written about the revered In-dian civil rights leader Mahatma MohandasGandhi who practiced the concept of

From consumers to caretakersInterview with Vandana Shivaby Jason Francis

The Amazonian rainforest is destroyed to grow soybeans to fuel our cars

dren of the earth and we share theearth with other species. Our firstidentity is as an earth community;all other identities are lesser iden-tities, whether they are identitiesof gender or race, language or reli-gion. With that identity comes asense of duties and responsibili-ties, and rights which flow fromthe duties. Earth Democracy canonly be founded on recognizingthe principle of diversity – thatthere will be difference in the world– and in recognizing diversity, cre-ating the conditions of peace onearth. If we are a family on theEarth and the Earth can renew it-self forever – to the extent that hu-mans do not intervene and destroythe cycles of renewability throughover-exploitation and over-extrac-tion – sharing the limited resourcesof the earth becomes a key factorin Earth Democracy.


“ahimsa”, or nonviolence. What part doesnonviolence have in the three economies?VS: Nature’s economy is based on nonvio-lence. That doesn’t mean there aren’t foodchains, it doesn’t mean that tigers won’t bepredators, but it does mean that the cycle oflife rejuvenates itself. The sustenanceeconomy’s primary principle is to do noharm; it is based on nonviolence. Unfortu-nately, the primary functioning of the mar-ket economy is totally based on violence;it’s based on violence to the earth. But it isalso based on violence to people. The ruleof the global market economy is based on,for example, uprooting farmers from the land.Ten years of so-called ‘trade liberalization’has led to 150,000 Indian farmers commit-ting suicide because of the dysfunctionalityof an economy in which it costs more toproduce something on land than you canearn from it, which is the very nature of thisdistorted globalized economy. This violencealso affects human relationships. An exam-ple of this violence is that as we stop beingproducers and are reduced to being con-sumers, women, who are equal partners inproductive economies, are viewed as para-sites in consumer economies. In China andIndia, violence to the future generations ofwomen takes the form of female feticide –killing the female fetus even before the girlis born. These levels of violence start build-ing a society in which everything is a com-modity. And when human relations arecommoditized, disposable people are cre-ated.

SI: What are “biopiracy” and“hydropiracy” and could you give an ex-ample of their ecological and social im-pact? What role are trade agreements play-ing in them?VS: In Earth Democracy there is a deep rec-ognition that the resources of the earth aregifts to be shared by all for equal suste-nance and not the greed of the few. Unfor-tunately, the trade agreements are turningthese common resources into privatizedproperty to be traded for profit by a handfulof corporations. The Trade Related Intel-lectual Property Rights [TRIPS] agreementof the WTO [World Trade Organization] ineffect forces countries to create property inlife – in seeds, in plants, in animals and mi-crobes. This in turn leads to, literally, thestealing of knowledge and biodiversity fromcountries that are poor financially but richin biodiversity. Examples of this kind ofbiopiracy are the patenting of the neem tree

– a sacred tree in India – patented by the USgovernment and WR Grace [a global chemi-cals and materials company]. We fought for11 years to have that patent revoked be-cause it was based on the piracy of ourknowledge. Other cases of biopiracy involveRiceTec (a Texas company) patenting a veryfamous aromatic rice – basmati – that comesfrom Doon Valley in the Himalayas, andMonsanto patenting an ancient wheat vari-ety that has very low gluten but because ofrising food allergies has very high value.

As far as water is concerned, tradeagreements as well as the World Bank’sStructural Adjustment Program are forcingthe privatization of water. The trade agree-ment that is particularly relevant is the Gen-eral Agreement on Trade and Services[GATS] as well as bilateral agreements thatin effect do the same. They treat environ-mental goods and services like water as atradable commodity to be owned, boughtand sold by corporations. The five giantplayers in this privatization are Bechtel,Suez, Viola (earlier Vivendi), Thames-RWEand Saur. Since water is a common resourceand is used and sustained as such, corpo-rations must steal it from a community toturn it into their commodity to trade for profit.

One dramatic example of this was thecase of Coca Cola. Whenever it sets up aplant it takes up to 1.5 to 2 million liters perday of ground water from a community, with-

out asking their permission. And it took acommunity in the Indian state of Kerala, avillage called Plachimada, where the womenstarted to say: “Our water is disappearing.We are walking 10 miles to get clean drink-ing water. This is hydropiracy. This is thetheft of our water.” I was involved in thismovement and a few years ago that particu-lar Coca Cola plant was shut down. Anotherbig case of hydropiracy is the case of priva-tization of water in cities where commonwater from rivers is tapped by companies,put into pipes and sold at very high pricesto citizens who before that were getting itas a public good. These are the changesthat hydropiracy and biopiracy bring. Theytake what belongs to the public at large, whatlies in the commons, turn it into private prop-erty and steal from poor communities forgiant corporations to make even moremoney than they already make.

SI: Does this create global monocultures?And what do you mean by” monoculturesof the mind”?VS: Definitely hydropiracy and biopiracycreate a global monoculture. Nature givesdiffering water endowments, which resultin different water cultures. The desert ofRajasthan has a distinct water culture linkedto the two inches of rainfall that they get –beautiful conservation systems that allowpeople to farm and have drinking water

Indian farmersprotestingagainst theglobal marketeconomy, whichis uprootingthem from theirland


throughout the year. It is very different fromthe water culture of Kerala where there arewetlands and people have to relate in a verydifferent way to an area where they have tolive with constant water. These water cul-tures are being destroyed by a monoculture,which assumes that water is something thatcomes from Coca Cola or Pepsi Cola in plas-tic bottles. That monoculture separates usfrom nature and nature’s hydrological cy-cle; it totally separates us from communitybecause instead of being caretakers for thecommon good of the earth’s water we becomeindividual consumers of supermarket shares.

Similarly, every society has had its ownplants, its own animals that shaped the so-

the future of humanity.The second aspect of this crisis is the

fact that primary production through farm-ing is being destroyed. Farmers are beingturned into a threatened species. Small farm-ers could be extinct in the next few decadesif we do not organize the food system dif-ferently.

A third food-related crisis is what I callthe “health bomb” – which has two dimen-sions. On one hand, as food is industrial-ized and globalized, food goes away fromthose who produce it. It gets consumedwhere there’s purchasing power, whichleaves a billion people hungry on the planet– that’s the malnutrition of the poor. But

food to another monoculture, but amonoculture of impoverished, nutritionallydeficient and toxic-rich junk food which is acurse for humanity. And for young peoplethis cultural alienation is showing up in newtypes of diseases like anorexia and bulimia,where humanity is now so estranged fromthe act of eating that food is becoming a curse.

SI: What measures do you believe will beneeded to resolve the food crisis?VS: The first measure we need to take toresolve the crisis is to recognize that we canproduce more and better food by stayingsmall in terms of units of production. There’sa huge myth that says we need large-scale,

ciety’s food and medicine. Today, asbiopiracy grows, monocultures alsogrow. Biopiracy does not reproduce thegenerosity of nature; it shrinks that tre-mendous richness into a handful ofcrops. We used to eat 8,500 differentcrops; in India we use 7,500 variousplants for medicine. Today there are fourcrops being grown worldwide for inter-national trade. The growth in crops likecorn, soybean, canola and cotton is re-ducing the diversity of the world.

What I have called “monocultures ofthe mind” is basically recognizing thatthis shrinkage of the world – a very rich,diverse world that we receive from na-ture – first takes place in the mind, a Car-tesian mechanistic mind that constructsthe world in an abstract form and thenreproduces this monocultural abstraction,projects it on the world and destroys thediversity.

SI: What impact is the globalized foodsystem, namely agribusinesses or indus-trialized agriculture, having in theworld?

there’s also malnutrition of the rich: two bil-lion people are suffering from diseases be-cause of bad food. Three billion, that’s halfthe world’s population, are cursed with de-nial of health, where health itself is the pri-mary reason we eat – maintaining our bod-ies, nourishing our systems.

Finally, the fourth aspect of this crisis isthe crisis of culture. We are what we eat;food is a very important part of our identity.Different cultures have been shaped by thedifferent traditional foods available: Indiahas very high levels of vegetarianism; inthe Mediterranean there is the Mediterra-nean diet. As our industrialized and glo-balized food culture takes over, it reduces

Vandana Shiva

VS: There’s a four-fold crisis emerging fromthe globalized food system. The first aspectof this crisis is its very heavy and clumsyecological footprint. Industrialized agricul-ture uses 10 times more energy than it pro-duces as food. It uses 10 times more waterthan ecological agriculture uses, whichmeans it’s 10 times less efficient in wateruse. It replaces people and their creativitywith fossil fuels, with toxics, with giant ma-chinery and pollution in the form of CO2from those fuels. On the one hand that isleading to a toxification of the planet andour food system. But it is also responsiblefor greenhouse gas pollution – the issue ofclimate change – and poses a huge threat to

industrial corporate farming to increasefood production. But large-scale farmsaren’t more productive. In 20 years of re-search I have shown repeatedly that thesmaller the farm the greater its biologicaloutput. Large-scale farms are concen-trated in terms of ownership; they’re notmore effective in terms of producing nu-trition and health for people. It has noth-ing to do with the quantity that is pro-duced; it has a lot to do with the powerand control of land, resources and own-ership over them. So we have to defendthe small farmer vigorously and spreadsmall farming and ecological farmingaround the world. Ecological farming ad-dresses all forms of these crises. It ad-dresses the ecological crisis by reducingour pressure on resources. It solves theproblem of disposability of farmers byputting farmers back on the land. It solvesthe problem of health because small andbiodiverse farms produce better andhigher quality food. And, finally, by link-ing back to the act of cultivating and theact of eating, we reclaim the culture offood. This is the way we need to go but

this part is also a critical aspect of buildingEarth Democracy.

SI: Are there movements that are attempt-ing to reclaim diversity in the face of cor-porate globalization?VS: There are many movements around theworld. But the two movements in which weare deeply involved in India are what I wouldcall movements for “living democracy” andmovements for “living economies”. Thesemovements are also founded on Gandhi’sprinciple of swaraj (self-governance andself-organization) and on swadeshi (self-production). What we have been doing overthe last 20 years through Navdanya, the


movement I have been building, has beento create biodiversity republics at the vil-lage level; republics that are caretakers oftheir biodiversity – their water, their land,their forests. In the process they protect thebiodiversity that sustains them and they alsoenrich their own lives. They become eco-nomically more productive, their incomesincrease, their production increases. At thelevel of political freedom these movements,which we call “living democracy” move-ments (in India we call them jaivpanchayats) are also practicing genuinedemocracy. The kind of representative de-mocracy where someone is voted into of-fice but then turns their back on voters be-cause of commercial influences is failing theearth and failing the people. We have to in-vent new forms of democracy and out ofthese inventions we will be able to securethe future of the human species and otherspecies on this earth.

SI: Could you describe the unique role thatwomen have in the worldwide movementseeking justice, sustainability, and peace?VS: A movement has been building over time– partly in contrast to the monocultures ofthe mind of the dominant system based ongreed, domination and exploitation – forpeace, justice, sharing, and sustainability.And we call this “diverse women for diver-sity”. What women are really bringing tothe world is what I call the culture of shar-ing and caring. After all, women were left bythe division of labor to look after children,to look after the old, to look after the ill. Andin the process, the culture of caring survivesmore in women, not because they are bio-logically more caring but because economi-cally they have been left to look after thesustenance economy. Also without sharingyou cannot really look after the householdeconomy. The original concept of econom-ics was derived from oikos [Greek for “thehousehold”], but today is estranged fromthe economy of the household. You cannotrun the household without sharing. Theplanet as a household has abundance but itis a limited abundance. If you take too muchwater from the ground we won’t have waterin the future. If we take limited amounts ofwater from the ground we will forever havewater. That concept of sharing too is beingkept alive by women who are the water pro-viders, the food providers, the seed keep-ers. And that division of labor, which leftwomen in what was called secondary tasksof care-giving, has become the primary

source of skills, values and knowledge forhumanity’s future.

SI: In your latest book you refer to “ex-cluding the middle” because of a polariz-ing, either-or attitude, placing local deci-sion-making against globalization. Howdoes economic localization interrelate witheconomic globalization?VS: Globalization is part of a continuum of aculture of sharing and a sense of our uni-versal being. It connects locally in terms ofour sense of the place where we live, whichdefines the water we drink, the communitywe are part of. But that same continuumgives us not just the planetary communityof the earth; it even gives us the cosmicunity of seeing ourselves as part of onecommon universe, that we are ultimatelychildren of the universe.

change. One way is to look at big problemscreated by big power and normally, sincethe dominant power is violence, you thinkthe way to respond to it is to seek the samelevels of violence, of dominating power. Onthe other hand, you can begin to make thechange by beginning at a small scale. Myinspiration for this has come from Gandhiwho, when we were ruled by the British, tookout a spinning wheel and said: “We will spinour way to freedom”. People laughed at himand said: “A piece of wooden equipment,how can it bring freedom?” He said it is pow-erful precisely because it is so small. It canbe in the hands of the poorest woman in thesmallest hut in the country, and thereforecan be a source of empowerment. And em-powering millions through the smallest ofactions makes it a more powerful action thanempowering three people with the samekinds of violent bombs, which is the logicof the suicide bomber.

I took inspiration from Gandhi’s spin-ning wheel and turned to the seed as a wayof beginning small but letting it spread. Justtoday on my table a farmer has left me hun-dreds of seed varieties that he is distribut-ing. He undertook this as his life commit-ment after we met last year during my jour-ney through the suicide belt where I com-mitted myself to stopping suicides amongfarmers; we are going to stop this violence.He did a bit of the journey with me, and nowall he’s doing is distributing these seeds.The 300,000 farmers who are working withus in Navanya everyday are sowing seeds.The smallness of the action, the smallnessof the seed, makes it powerful.

SI: How far along the road are we towardmanifesting Earth Democracy and what doyou feel needs to be done now?VS: If you look at the dominant expressionsof where the human species is – the domi-nant media, newspapers, government policypreoccupations – one would think we arevery far from Earth Democracy. But considerthat the large majority of the world in Africa,Asia and Latin America, the peasants andtribal people in remote villages are actuallypracticing Earth Democracy – that’s the prac-tice of the majority. And then think of howmany people are making change quietly,below the radar, in their consciousness, intheir heart – I would conclude that the ma-jority of the people in the world are shiftingto Earth Democracy.

Further information: www.navdanya.org

On the other hand corporate economicglobalization based on greed leaves no lo-cal anchor. There is no “local”, except as aselling place for globally traded commodi-ties and it is leading to new shrinkage. Anembedded locality that is also universal re-duces our ecological footprint while enhanc-ing our consciousness. Globalizedcommodification shrinks our consciousnesswhile enlarging the pressure that is broughtto bear on the planet, and especially on thepoor.

SI: And where does terrorism come into allof this?VS: Terrorism for me is a mirror image of themonoculture that is destroying diversity. Icall it a mirror image for two reasons: be-cause it uses the instruments of the domi-nant force – the instruments of violence –and it rejects the practice of diversity. It ex-emplifies the practice of the “law of the ex-cluded middle”.

SI: How important are small-scale re-sponses to large-scale problems? Couldyou give us an example of their effective-ness?VS: There are two kinds of engagement in

“In Earth Democracy there is adeep recognition that the resourcesof the earth are gifts to be shared

by all for equal sustenance and notthe greed of the few.”

•


TRENDS

In this section, we reviewdevelopments and opinions whichdemonstrate that there is anincreasingly powerful under-current sweeping the world in thedirection of synthesis, sharingand co-operation, of new relation-ships and new approaches.

Former US Vice President Al Gore has calledfor a new Marshall Plan that “links the bat-tle against the climate crisis to the struggleagainst global poverty”. Speaking at theUnited Nations’ “High Level Event” on theclimate change crisis held at UN Headquar-ters in New York, Gore stressed that noth-ing less than an initiative similar to theMarshall Plan that helped reconstruct Eu-rope after World War II is needed.

The UN-sponsored meeting was thelargest gathering ever of world leaders onclimate change. Some 40 heads of state orgovernment and 70 cabinet ministers fromaround the world attended.

A report issued three days prior to Gore’sspeech concluded that the melting NorthPole ice cap could be completely gone in 23years. That report, Gore said, demonstratedthe immediacy of the planetary emergencyand the need for prompt action.

“The old divide between the North andSouth, between developed and developingis now obsolete,” Gore stated. He said thatthe joining together of developed and de-veloping nations to reduce carbon emis-sions is the key to fighting global poverty.It is up to the developed world to showpoorer nations that combating climatechange will not come at their expense, butwill in fact support the aims of overcomingpoverty. The real cost, Gore concluded,would be in not taking action. (Source: UNNews; The Financial Times, UK)

Korean reconciliationmoves forwardAfter three days of summit meetings, NorthKorean leader Kim Jong Il and South Ko-rean President Roh Moo-hyun signed a rec-onciliation agreement that promises to buildcloser economic and security ties betweenthe two nations. The first summit meetingbetween the Koreas in seven years was notexpected to result in the wide-ranging pactthat was finally negotiated. Surprisingly,though, the declaration signed containedmany specific projects designed to bring thecountries closer together and reflected themodest concessions made by both sides.

The South will create an economic zonein Haeju, a town in southwestern North

Korea, and will join with the North in estab-lishing shared fishing waters in areas thathad previously been the sites of militaryclashes. The North consented to take stepsto implement the nuclear disarmament agree-ment reached in February 2007.

Both countries agreed to work towardssigning a peace agreement that would re-place the ceasefire that ended the KoreanWar in 1953. The North and South Koreanleaders pledged in the summit declaration“to closely co-operate to end their militaryhostilities and reduce tensions and securepeace on the Korean peninsula.” Most ob-servers concluded that this agreement, ifimplemented, would open a new chapter inrelations between the two countries.(Source: The New York Times, USA; Asso-ciated Press)

Jatropha plantused for biofuelJatropha, a seemingly worthless weed of-ten used by farmers in developing coun-tries as a repellant to grazing animals and aguard against erosion, is being recom-mended as a new source of biofuel that maysolve energy problems and reduce povertyin some of the world’s poorest nations.

Supporters of jatropha cite its promiseby pointing out the ways in which it differsfrom other potential biofuels. The plant re-quires very little water and no pesticides,therefore avoiding environmental risks. Itcan be grown on virtually barren land andso would not need to consume the arableland required to grow badly needed food

crops. Not only can it be planted alongsideregular crops such as millet, peanuts, cornand beans, but it may actually improve theiroutput.

In Mali, a Dutch entrepreneur, HugoVerkuijl, has started a company to producebiodiesel from jatropha seeds and has in-cluded local farmers by giving them a stakein the company. Other projects in Mali areaddressing the lack of electricity there byusing jatropha to supply fuel for generatorsin villages that until now have had no accessto power. (Source: The New York Times, USA)

Mobile phone bankingMobile phone banking is an outstandingsuccess in South Africa. Banks in the coun-try are few and far between except in urbanareas, leaving 13 million out of 47 millioninhabitants (28 per cent) without easy physi-cal access to banks and no bank accounts.Most South Africans however, do havecell phones, a fact which inspired entre-preneur Brian Richardson to set up vir-tual banks. His company, called WIZZIT,now has “more than 100,000 account hold-ers” who pay bills and receive their sal-

Gore calls for Global Marshall Plan

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun (left) and North Korean leader Kim JongIl (right)


ary via their mobile phone.The WIZZIT model is also prov-

ing attractive to other developingcountries. United Nations researchshowed that migrant workers aroundthe world together send home $232billion per year but lose no less than20 per cent due to postage costs ortheft. To avoid such loss BrianRichardson would like to expandWIZZIT mobile-banking to India,other African countries and EasternEurope. Since only 1 billion out of theworld’s 6.5 billion inhabitants has abank account and 3.5 billion own amobile phone the chances of successappear very high. (Source: deVolkskrant, the Netherlands;worldchanging.com)

jection, and there have been a number ofbotched executions. The supreme court isdue to come to a decision in June 2008.

There is in fact a worldwide trend to-wards abolishing the death penalty, and inSeptember 2007 Gabon became the latestcountry to end the practise, followingRwanda, in July 2007. (Sources: The Guard-ian, UK; www.amnesty.org; wikipedia.org)

Algerian womenmake headwayA silent revolution is taking place in Alge-ria. In a part of the world where many coun-tries are culturally traditional, if not con-servative, women in general have had littlepower; now, however change is on the way.Women’s economic and political influenceis on the increase: some 70 per cent of Alge-rian lawyers and 60 per cent of the judgesare women. A growing number of womenare contributing more to the family incomethan men. In the country’s universities 60per cent of students are women.

While in the past they were relegated tothe background, Algerian women are begin-ning to play a greater role in public life. Theyhave started to drive buses and cabs, andto work as petrol station attendants andwaitresses.

Though Algeria has left behind it thedark days of the civil war, the country is stillplagued by corruption, bomb attacks, thegap between politicians and the population,

and between rich and poor. Sociolo-gists hope that women can now bethe driving force for change in Alge-ria. With their increasing presence inthe apparatus of government and onthe streets, women may have a mod-erating and modernizing influence onsociety. (Source: de Volkskrant, theNetherlands)

Support network forIslamic womenMuslim women are gaining ground inmany parts of the world. In 1993 theAmerican-Lebanese philosopher andlaw professor Dr Azizah al-Hibri setup Karamah in Virginia, USA.Karamah is a network of legallytrained Muslim women, which worksfor the liberation of women within Is-

TRENDS

Mobile phone banking is an outstanding success in SouthAfrica

Lethal injection review maysuspend US executionsAnti death penalty campaigners in the USwere hopeful that there would be a halt inexecutions while the Supreme Court reviewsthe lethal injection, after a rare last-minutereprieve was granted to a condemned manin Texas in September 2007. The SupremeCourt offered no explanation for their re-prieve to Carlton Turner Jr, who was sched-uled to be put to death by lethal injectionfor killing his adoptive parents. Turner’s law-yers had based their appeal on the nature ofthe lethal injection – likening it to a “chemi-cal straightjacket.”

Turner’s reprieve came just hours aftera death row inmate in Alabama was granteda 45-day stay of execution by the state’sgovernor, prompting hopes that the USseemed to be moving towards a lull on ex-ecutions before the Supreme Court decideson the legality of the injection. The court isexpected to meet in January 2008 to discusswhether lethal injection, a cocktail of threedrugs, represents “cruel and unusual pun-ishment” and is therefore unlawful.

The challenge is on behalf of two menon death row in Kentucky, Ralph Baze andThomas Clyde Bowling Jr, who argued thatthey would suffer excruciating pain in themoments before death but would be unableto cry out because of the paralysing effectsof one of the drugs. In recent months 11states have suspended executions becauseof concerns about the cruelty of lethal in-

lam, as a means of dealing with radicalizationand orthodox Islam.

At first Karamah was active only at lo-cal level, but after 11 September 2001 theactivities expanded rapidly. Questions wereraised about Islam on all sides. Karamah’sanswer was that true Islam is a liberation forwomen and does not conflict with democ-racy and the Western constitutional state.“I have behind me at least 20 years of studyof Islamic sources and I’ve spoken withjudges, women and Imams from more than15 Islamic countries,” said Dr Al-Hibri.Equipped with that knowledge she can an-swer with authority questions from young-sters, Muslim women in search of their iden-tity and also non-Muslims. The network hasgrown so rapidly that an office with paidstaff has been opened in Washington. Al-Hibri also hopes to open an office at theEuropean Union in Brussels in December2007. (Source: de Volkskrant, the Nether-lands; www.karamah.org)

Latin American womenleadersMadrid has held the third meeting of Ibero-American Woman Leaders, claiming realgender equality and opportunities betweenmen and women in Latin America. BeatrizParedes, member of the Advisory Commit-tee for the Latin American Parliament andgovernment official of the Mexican PRI, said

(continued on page 23)


Lior Volynitz, 20 years old, is one of manyyoung Israelis who, in recent years, haverefused military service because of theircountry’s policies towards the Palestinians.In March 2005 he joined 250 other highschool students signing a ‘Shministim’ let-ter. The letter, explaining why they had re-fused military service, was sent to the Is-raeli Prime Minister and other high-rank-ing officials. Lior was, to his knowledge,the first person in Israel to be spared im-prisonment in a military jail because of hispolitical stance as a refusenik. Ales Kustecinterviewed him for Share International inMaribor, Slovenia.

Share International: Why did you refusethe military service in Israel?Lior Volynitz: I refused to serve in the Israeliarmy because, first of all, it was forced onme. In Israel all young men are compelled toserve in the army for three years, and womenfor two years. I refused to serve because Iknew if I did I would be doing somethingwrong, and could not live with it. The Israelioccupation of Palestine and the oppressionof our neighbours, like the Israeli war againstthe Lebanese people and other policies ofthe Israeli army, are acts I cannot agree with.I could not join an army whose policies areunjust, and apart from that I don’t believethat violence is the solution and that peacecould come out of it. I think there are other,better, ways to achieve peace.

SI: What were the consequences of yourrefusal?LV: Anybody publicly refusing to serve inthe Israeli army is supposed to serve time inmilitary prison. Fortunately, this did nothappen to me. I sent a letter to governmentofficials and the Israeli army in which I re-fused military service on the grounds ofbeing a conscientious objector. I also joined250 young Israelis of the same age and wewrote the ‘Shministim’ letter [high-schoolseniors’ letter], in which we explained ourrefusal because of the Israeli occupation ofPalestinian land. I expected to spend time inmilitary prison but, surprisingly, the daybefore I was supposed to enter militaryprison, the army called me before a specialcommittee, a ‘conscience committee’, which

has the jurisdiction to release a person frommilitary service. And although I cited all myreasons, like the Israel occupation of Pales-tine, and although they are only supposedto release people who are pacifists, ratherthan political objectors, they still chose torelease me from service a day before I wasdue to start my prison sentence. I was verylucky.

SI: Are there a lot of young people in Israelrefusing military service?LV: There were around 250 people whochose to join us and make public their re-fusal to do military service. But there aremany other young people who refuse toserve in the army either for political or per-sonal reasons, but this is not reported onby media. In 2006 more than 50 per cent ofIsraelis who were supposed to join the armydid not do their military service or did notcomplete their full service and this numberis growing every year.

SI: How is this issue presented in the Is-raeli media?

try. We sent the letter not only to our gov-ernment but also to the media. The responsewas shocking because it was published eve-rywhere. Even the President of Israel de-nounced our letter in the media. It really hadimportant consequences. Of course, manypeople reacted against us but we saw thatas a good thing, because in the past serv-ing the army used to be something that peo-ple accepted as a matter of a course. Now atleast we see the first signs of independentthinking: 17-year-olds can now think forthemselves. So even if the majority of arti-cles were actually against us, we broughtthe issue into the public sphere, which isvery important.

SI: How does the Israeli occupation impacton the lives of Palestinians?LV: Since the occupation of the West Bankand Gaza in 1967 the Palestinians have livedthere all this time under the control of a for-eign army. This means there is no democ-racy in the West Bank and Gaza or few insti-tutions that Palestinians can trust that canhelp them facilitate their lives. Instead, aforeign army controls most of their land. Thearmy can do whatever it wants with the peo-ple: it can take away their land and propertywithout being held to account. These arethe basics of the occupation. Beside that, inrecent years the occupation has becomeworse and worse.

The first and perhaps the worst tool ofoppression against Palestinians is the build-ing of settlements: the moving of Jewish

Israeli youth rebel against army serviceInterview with Lior Volynitzby Aleš Kustec

Lior Volynitz

“These checkpoints, which are at the entrance of every city, make itreally difficult for Palestinians to move from one area to another.”

LV: I can only talkabout our case,which happened in2005. We wrote avery convincing let-ter, in which we ex-plained our rea-sons. We presentedit as a tool of de-mocracy, showingthat we refused notbecause we wereagainst Israeli soci-ety, but because wewere in favour ofsociety, in favour ofpeace in our coun-


Israeli citizens into Palestinian territory tolive on Palestinian land that was taken fromthem by force. That means Israel is buildinghouses that Palestinians are not allowed tobuy, live in or even visit. There is completeseparation between Israelis and Palestiniansin the occupied territories. The same goesfor the roads. For example, the Israeli armyhas built many roads on Palestinian landwhich the Palestinians are not allowed touse. They therefore limit the movement ofthe Palestinians both by building such roadsand by means of the checkpoints. Thesecheckpoints, which are at the entrance ofevery city, make it really difficult for Pales-tinians to move from one area to another.Neither people nor cargo are allowed tomove through them without the permissionof the Israeli army. That means if you are astudent and you want to go to school andpass a checkpoint, the Israeli army must firstallow you to do so. If you need to go tohospital the army must allow you first topass the checkpoint. So there is no freedomof movement inside Palestine.

Furthermore, any kind of initiative in thevast area of occupied territories – buildingor extending a house, opening a businessor forming a local association even if it isabout, say, football – requires the authori-zation of the Israeli occupying forces – andit is very hard to get that permission. If youdo not get permission to build a house anddecide to build it anyway, they can comeand destroy it and even arrest you. So thePalestinians live under the occupation ofthe foreign army, and it controls every as-pect of their lives. This situation, I believe,is the reason there is terrorism: this is thereason for the hatred between the two na-tions, and why we cannot live in peace.

SI: How do other Israelis view the occupa-tion of the Palestinians?

LV: An understanding of what the occupa-tion is actually doing to Palestinians is notwidespread in Israeli society. Although peo-ple know there are Palestinians living notfar away from them they never meet or visitthem. An Israeli can live in Tel Aviv, whichis 20 minutes away from Palestine by car,and may never meet a Palestinian except forthe time when he is a soldier in the Israeliarmy. The first time they might encounter aPalestinian is when they are soldiers andare invading their villages in uniform. Thatmeans the average Israeli won’t have a cluewhat Palestinian life is like.

SI: You, on the other hand, have met a lot ofPalestinians.LV: My experience was very different. In thisway I made contact with Palestinians mostlythrough humanitarian and political groups I

worked with on occasions such as plantingolive trees after the Israeli army had rootedthem up. I also helped escort Palestinianchildren to school and joined demonstra-tions and other activities against the con-struction of the apartheid wall and the steal-ing of Palestinian land.

SI: How do you, as a young person, see thefuture for Israelis and Palestinians? Willyou be able to live in peace as good neigh-bours one day?LV: I am sure that one day we will live inpeace together, but for that to happen wemust sit down together and reach an agree-ment as two sides that are equal. Unfortu-nately, Israel acts as if it is an isolated islandin the region. But if we separate ourselvesfrom our neighbours, we build walls not onlyin nature but also in our heads. We not onlyexclude them, but we also turn ourselvesinto a ghetto. I believe there could be anagreement between Israelis and Palestinians,which is the division of land for both na-tions: Israel and Palestine, two capitals inJerusalem and an agreement about the re-turn of the refugees to some extent or com-pensation for others. Actually there are veryrealistic solutions; many initiatives have al-ready been agreed by important Israeli andPalestinian politicians, but the current lead-ership in Israel and the USA does not sup-port them. It will take time but I am sure therewill be peace between us. In the end peaceis achieved by people, not by politicians.

“I also joineddemonstrationsand other activi-ties against theconstruction ofthe apartheid walland the stealing ofPalestinian land.”

Lior Volynitz appeared before an Israeli Army‘conscience committee’ on 17 October 2006where he declared that he was refusing mili-tary service. Lior was officially recognized asa conscientious objector and was released frommilitary service. Lior wrote the following state-ment to explain his decision to refuse militaryservice.

“With its checkpoints and detentions, raidsand bombardments, assassinations and abduc-tions, the separation wall and discrimination,Israeli policy in itself is enough of a reason forrefusal to serve in an army that commits suchwar crimes. This is not all there is to it, though:the price for this policy is paid not just byIsrael’s neighbours but equally by us, Israelis.

“Politicians will pass the bill for the latestwar against Lebanon to the bank account ofthose entitled to social benefits, and the costof Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s new armoredvehicles will be shouldered by the laid-offworkers of the next privatized company. Theprice for the murder of Lebanese civilians will

be paid by bereaved families in Israel. Andstill in a few years Israelis will all pay a pricewhen we will wonder, “why do they hate usso much?”

“During this last war I was old enough tohave been a soldier myself. I have a high mili-tary profile (97) so they might have sent meoff to Lebanon. I might have obeyed orderswithout thinking twice – easily. But I won’tbe a soldier, and while the war was raging Iparticipated in activities against the bloodshed,against policies that assume every politicalissue can be dealt with through military solu-tions.

“By refusing, I am sending a message toother soldiers and future conscripts. I wouldlike them to know that there is another way.My message is also addressed to all the peo-ple who have suffered from Israel’s policy. Iwould like them to know that there are Israe-lis who are different. I sincerely hope that indoing this I will contribute, if only in a smallway, towards making Israeli society more justand peace-loving.”

•


THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

In this section Share International focuses onthe rising tide of people power which willcontinue to swell until, under Maitreya’s wiseguidance, the people will lead their leadersinto the creation of a just society in which therights and needs of all are recognized andmet.

Rallies and protests calling for peace inDarfur took place throughout the world on17 September 2007. Hundreds of thousandsof people took to the streets in over 30 coun-tries to express support for the people ofSudan’s Darfur region, and to pressureworld governments, in particular the Su-danese government, to protect civiliansthere.

At least 200,000 people have been killedand 2 million displaced in Darfur since 2003.The Sudanese government and its Arab mi-litia allies are blamed for the massacres ofDarfur’s black African population.

“From Cape Town to London, Moscowto New York, concerned citizens are askingwhy the UN Security Council’s resolutionson Darfur have yet to be enforced,” saidNobel Peace Prize winner ArchbishopDesmond Tutu, who endorsed the globalprotests. “We are still waiting for a no-flyzone, targeted sanctions against the archi-tects of the genocide, and referrals to theInternational War Crimes Tribunal. No won-der the Khartoum regime doubts the resolveof the international community, and daresto deny UN peacekeepers access to Darfur.”

Protestors in Rome wore t-shirts with theimage of a blood-stained hand, while othersin London marched from the Sudanese em-bassy to Downing Street carrying signswith messages such as “Rape, torture, mur-der. How much longer for Darfur?” In SanFrancisco organizers held a film-screeningand interfaith prayer. Protestors in New Yorkgave speeches outside UN headquarters.In Ottawa, Canada, people wearing blind-folds created a human chain outside Cana-da’s parliament.

To coincide with the global demonstra-tions, a co-ordinated campaign in the UnitedStates among houses of worship and faith-based organizations called for immediateprotection of the Darfurian people. Duringthe Weekend of Prayer, local faith commu-nities and organizations were encouragedto dedicate a sermon, observe a moment ofsilence or pray for those in Darfur.

September 17 was chosen as the datefor worldwide protests because it markedthe start of the UN General Assembly, andwas the first anniversary of the commitmentby 150 governments at the UN World Sum-

mit to take on the “responsibility to pro-tect” people at risk of mass slaughter.

Amnesty International, Human RightsWatch and the Save Darfur Coalition wereamong the groups who helped organize theglobal effort. (Source: BBC News; Nampa-BBC; CCTV.com; www.globefordarfur.org;www.savedarfur.org; Human Rights First)

Americans marchingfor peaceOn 15 September 2007 a peace rally was heldin Washington DC, USA, organized by Vet-erans for Peace and the Answer Coalition toprotest against the war in Iraq. The marchtook place from the White House to theCapitol and was attended by an estimated100,000 people who packed the eight-lane-wide Pennsylvania Avenue for more than10 blocks.

Protesters surged onto the Capitol’ssouth lawn and up the steps where theywere met by a police line. Iraq veterans thenconducted a solemn ceremony in memoryof the US soldiers and Iraqis killed in thewar – nearly 4,000 US soldiers and over 1

million Iraqis. Over 5,000 demonstrators layon the ground in a symbolic ‘die-in’. Peaceactivist Cindy Sheehan told the crowd it wastime to be assertive. “It’s time to lay ourbodies on the line and say we’ve hadenough,” she said.

Army veteran Justin Cliburn, 25, ofLawton, Oklahoma, said: “We’re occupyinga people who do not want us there … We’rehere to show that it isn’t just a bunch of oldhippies from the 60s who are against thiswar.”

Two weeks later, on 29 September 2007,another rally was held in Washington DCorganized by Troops Out Now Coalitionwith an estimated 5,000 people marching foran end to the war in Iraq.

Peace groups around the USA are pre-paring for another huge demonstration onSaturday 27 October with rallies taking placein 11 cities – Boston, Chicago,Jonesborough, Los Angeles, New Orleans,

Worldwide rallies for Darfur

“We are still waiting for a no-fly zone, targeted sanctions against the architects of thegenocide in Darfur.” — Desmond Tutu


THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLENew York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, SaltLake City, San Francisco, and Seattle. Theorganizers website (www.oct27.org) reads:“On that day, people from all walks of lifewill gather in 11 cities around the country ina national expression of the breadth anddepth of antiwar sentiment in this nation.For many people, it will be their first step intransforming their antiwar feelings into an-tiwar action … On 27 October the peoplewill speak: we want this war to end, and wewant it to end now!”(Source: www.oct27.org; CNN;www.answer.pephost.org)

Burma: “the world iswatching”Following the brutal suppression of the larg-est pro-democracy demonstrations seen inBurma since 1988, an international day ofaction worldwide sent a signal to the Bur-mese military junta that “the world is watch-ing your every move”.

The protests in September and October2007 in Rangoon, and reportedly acrossBurma (Myanmar), saw marchers chanting“May we be free of torture, may there bepeace in hearts and minds as our kindnessspreads around the world.” People acrossBurma risked their lives to alert the world totheir plight through mobile phone imagesand web logs.

In support of Burma’s ‘saffron revolu-tion’ a rolling programme of 200 proteststook place in 30 countries, including Aus-tria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, In-dia, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, SouthKorea, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US.Many of the marches were led by Buddhistmonks, with protesters wearing red head-bands – the colour of the Burmese nationalflag. Red headbands were also tied aroundpublic buildings.

In London, Burmese monks met with UKPrime Minister Gordon Brown, who said that“the anger of the world has been expressedabout the outrages that have taken placeagainst the people of Burma”. After scatter-ing petals on the River Thames, the monksled some 10,000 marchers through Londonto Downing Street where they tied red head-bands around the gates.

Demonstrators in New York rallied out-side the Burmese mission to the UN, whilein Houston, Texas, protesters, includingmany Burmese, gathered outside the Bur-

mese consulate waving flags of Burma’selected ruling party, the National League forDemocracy. Buddhist monks sat in medita-tion outside the Chinese Consulate in SanFrancisco, while protesters – many dressedin red – waved banners proclaiming “De-mocracy for Burma” and “Free Burma”. Hol-lywood celebrities sent a letter to UN Secre-tary General Ban Ki-moon calling on him to“personally intervene”. Washington pro-testers marched from the Burmese Embassyto those of China and India (who continueto support the military regime) and outsidethe Indian embassy two Indian speakerscriticized the country for selling arms toBurma – a deal which they said floutedeverything Ghandi, founder of the Indiannation, stood for.

Dissent is growing within the Burmesemilitary and administration. A Burmese armyofficer defected to Thailand rather than carryout his orders to deal with the protests. “Iknew the plan to beat and shoot the monksand if I stayed on, I would have to followthese orders. Because I’m a Buddhist, I didnot want to kill the monks,” he told mediaorganizations.

And Ye Min Tun, a foreign ministry offi-cial for 10 years and second secretary at theBurmese Embassy in London resigned. De-scribing himself as a “good Buddhist”, hecriticized the Burmese government’s “appall-ing” treatment of the protesters and “thepeaceful monks”.

Asked whether he thought the pro-de-mocracy movement had been crushed, hesaid: “I think it’s not the end. I think it’s justthe beginning of the revolution.” (Source:BBC, UK; Washington Post, USA;newsdeskspecial.co.uk, burmacampaign.org.uk,indymedia.org.uk, cbs5.com)

Ecuador: more oil moneyfor the peopleThe government of Ecuador has announcedthat 99 per cent of all ‘extraordinary’ profitsfrom oil sales should be allocated to the State,since a new policy was formulated to “re-cover sovereignty” in the energy field inorder to improve Ecuador’s economy.

Ecuador’s President, Rafael Correa, hasrecently ratified a law which states that 99per cent of the extra benefits from oil ex-ports should return to the government tobe used for social projects. In the surprisedecree just issued, Correa nearly doubledhis government’s share of foreign oil com-panies’ “extraordinary earnings,” or earn-ings on oil sold above prices fixed in com-pany contracts, boosting state royalties from50 to 99 per cent.

Only 1 per cent of the oil revenue will goto private companies operating in the coun-try.

Correa said that this measure is an at-tempt to find a “fair” distribution of re-

Burma’s ‘saffron revolution’: “May we be free of torture, may there be peace in hearts andminds as our kindness spreads around the world.”



SIGNS OF THE TIME

In His Message of November 1977,Maitreya said: “Those who search forsigns will find them”. Ever since, an in-creasing number of miraculous phe-nomena have flooded the world: ap-pearances, crosses of light, healingwells, weeping icons and statues.In May 1988, an associate of Maitreyastated in Share International: “Thesigns of Maitreya’s presence in theworld will continue to increase. He isgoing to flood the world with such hap-penings that the mind can never com-prehend it.”

A message from MaitreyaOn 27 September 2007 Benjamin Creme was interviewed for a television documen-tary at the Share Nederland Information Centre in Amsterdam, Holland. At the endof filming, during a Blessing from Maitreya, the following message was given by Himthrough Benjamin Creme.

My dear friends. I am close to you now.Many of you have awaited My presence for a long time. I am about to stepforward openly before all men, and to begin my outer mission.There is no distance between us. Know this. Understand this.When you ask Me through the ‘hand’ or directly to Me for help, that help,you should know, is assured. It is possible that you will not recognize thatthe help has been given, but so it will be. Trust Me to aid you, for it is to doso that I come.I shall exhort you to work with Me for the good of all.This is the opportunity to grow quicker, faster than you have ever donebefore, and so bring you to the Feet of That One Whom we call God.Be not afraid of the many problems which arise now almost daily in theworld. These events are transient and soon men will come to understandthat they have before them a future bathed in light.So will it be.

UFO in BritishColumbia,CanadaResidents of a small town in British Colum-bia, Canada, saw a bright orange orb in thesky on the night of 9 September 2007. Onewitness in Sidney, British Columbia, said theobject was shaped liked a jellyfish, andmoved silently across the sky in a south-erly direction. According to the witness, “Itwas very bright, brilliant even; it pulsatedslightly. The colour was not homogenousor static. It was very much like a glowingorange jellyfish. It continued due south overSidney at an increasing speed and appearedto move south towards Victoria and thensouth-west and out of sight dimming fromview.”

The witness reported the sighting on awebsite, prompting another person who hadalso seen the UFO to come forward. Thesecond witness said: “We were standingoutside in the front of our house and sud-denly there was a bright light that came overthe trees. I thought it was a plane at first,because it was so low, but there was nosound. It then curved around to the southmoving very slowly and seemed to be get-ting higher and much further away … thenit just disappeared. We knew it wasn’t aplane, it was moving way too slow. Peopleeverywhere were looking up at this thing. Idon’t know what I saw, but it was pretty

Family photograph takenin Jyväskylä, Finland,sent by Ulla Jyväkorpi,shows a light blessingfrom the Master Jesus.


SIGNS OF THE TIME

exciting.” (Source: Peninsula News Review,Canada)(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms thatthis was an authentic sighting of space-craft from Mars.)

“Ghost lights” seen inIndian grasslandsVisitors to the Banni grasslands in India’sGujarat province say they have seen strangelight phenomena on dark nights. The localpeople, who have reportedly seen theselights for centuries, call them Chhir Batti,meaning “ghost lights”. Indian ornitholo-gist Jugal Kishor Tiwari has seen the unu-sual lights several times during visits toBanni to study the area’s varied bird spe-cies. “I first came to know about these dur-ing the study of birds in Banni in 1990,”said Tiwari. “We were there to trap somebirds … and were distracted by these lights.The light, which is as bright as a mercurylamp, changes its colour to blue and some-times red. It is like a moving ball of fire, whichsometimes stops or moves as fast as an ar-row. On 5 November 2005 my team found

these lights at seven places. We have shownthis phenomenon to several experts includ-ing well-known American ornithologist BillClark. He was amazed and had no explana-tion.”

Tiwari said that the lights can only beseen after 8pm on dark nights, and are vis-ible between 2 and 10 feet above the ground.He said the lights almost seem to have amind of their own. “It’s like the lights play-ing hide and seek. Even if you decide not tofollow them, they can creep up on you. It’ssomething like the light following you. Thisis not only mine but has been everybodyelse’s experience here.” (Source: http://cities.ExpressIndia.com)(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms thatthese are devices used by space vehiclesfrom Mars and Venus gathering local in-formation about the quality of the air andsoil.)

UFOs in BavariaOn 25 April 2007 people in the federal stateof Bavaria, Germany, noticed a remarkableobject in the sky. It was a clear bright dotwith several black circles rotating around it.

The phenomenon was also reported by po-lice patrolling in Illertissen, a village betweenMunich and Stuttgart, who could not find anexplanation for it. After a while the object andcircles disappeared as quickly as they hadappeared. (Source: Tageszeitung, Germany)(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms thissighting to be spaceships from Mars.)

Multiple UFO sightingsin the NetherlandsEnschede, 15 July: “On Sunday eveningaround 10.40pm I looked out of my attic win-dow. I saw two orange balls of light go fromthe south in an easterly direction, both at adifferent speed. The two balls appeared alsoto change colour all the time.” (BenjaminCreme’s Master confirms they were space-craft from Venus.)Eindhoven, 15 July: “I first saw a strongbeam of light between two stars. I was luckyto see that light beam because it made melook at the sky and then a few seconds laterthe most beautiful thing happened: for about10 seconds I could enjoy two ‘ships’ flyingin formation. As to their size they weresmaller than a one-person fighter jet, therewere no lights and no sound.

“So, I really saw solid matter fly and nota beam or a ball of light or something likethat. They were triangular in shape. I esti-mate the height they were flying at to beabout 3 kilometres. The speed was difficultto estimate, but to give an idea: they flewfrom left to right in about 10 seconds. If ithad been an airplane I could certainly haveseen it for five minutes.” (Benjamin Creme’sMaster confirms they were spaceships fromMars.)Helmond, 14 July: “I live in an apartmentbuilding, of which there are three in a row,and that night I could not sleep because ofthe heat. So I went to my living room againand when I looked outside I saw to my sur-prise an illuminated cloud. The funny thingwas that it looked as if it was scanning themiddle apartment-building. It flew con-stantly back and forth. After half an hour itdisappeared suddenly but after about fiveminutes there it was again. It flew back andforth above that one apartment building andthat lasted again about half an hour. Nowand then it turned over and then you saw ablue-green glow.” (Benjamin Creme’s Mas-ter confirms it was a spaceship from Mars.)(Source: www.Niburu.nl)

Light patterns on a building in the centre of Split, Croatia, sent by Goran Bosnic.Manifested by the Space Brothers in collaboration with Maitreya.

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MAITREYA’S PRIORITIES

“To aid men in their task, the Christhas formulated certain priorities. Theycover the essential needs of every man,woman and child. The first priority isan adequate supply of the right food.Secondly, adequate housing andshelter for all. Thirdly, health-care andeducation as a universal right.” Benjamin Creme’s Master, January 1989.In this section, Share Internationaladdresses problems in the areas ofMaitreya’s priorities, and also identifiesrelated plans, solutions and projects.

The UN General Assembly has just adopteda resolution calling for the recognition ofthe rights of indigenous peoples around theworld to self-determination. While the Uni-versal Declaration on the Rights of Indig-enous Peoples was endorsed by 143 mem-bers, four members voted against the reso-lution – the United States, Canada, Australia,and New Zealand.

The resolution states that the world’s370 million indigenous people have the rightnot only to self-determination but also tocontrol over their lands and their resources.This latter clause seems to be the stickingpoint for those powers who exercised theirveto.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-mooncalled it “a triumph for indigenous peoplesaround the world,” noting that this was amoment of reconciliation between memberstates and indigenous peoples.

The Declaration emphasizes the rightsof indigenous peoples to maintain andstrengthen their institutions, cultures, andtraditions and pursue their development inkeeping with their own needs and aspira-tions.

Botswana Bushman Jumanda

Gakelebone of First People of the Kalahari,who works with the independent advocacygroup Survival International, expressed hisdelight and hope: “It recognizes that gov-ernments can no longer treat us as second-class citizens, and it gives protection to tribalpeoples so that they will not be thrown offtheir lands like we were.”

Survival International’s director StephenCorry said that the new resolution “sets abenchmark by which the treatment of tribaland indigenous peoples can be judged, andwe hope it will usher in an era in which abuseof their rights is no longer tolerated.” Hecompared the Universal Declaration on theRights of Indigenous Peoples to the Uni-versal Declaration of Human Rights creatednearly 60 years ago. (Source: OneWorld.net,Star Tribune, Minneapolis, USA)

Child survival milestoneThe number of children dying before theage of five has dropped below 10 million perannum for the first time since such recordsbegan, according to the United NationsChildren’s Fund (UNICEF).

Surveys conducted in 2005-2006 in more

than 50 countries show an overall drop indeaths among under-fives to 9.7 million, from13 million in 1990. “This is an historic mo-ment,” said UNICEF Executive Director AnnM. Veneman. “More children are survivingtoday than ever before.” However, shewarned against complacency: “The loss of9.7 million young lives each year is unac-ceptable. Most of these deaths are prevent-able and, as recent progress shows, the so-lutions are tried and tested.”

The September 2007 report echoes find-

New UN document on Indigenous Rights

The number of children dying before the age of five has dropped below 10 million per annum forthe first time since such records began

ings released earlier in the yearwhich showed a 60 per cent fall inmeasles deaths since 1999 – and75 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.Since the previous surveys, in1999-2000, under-five mortality hasdropped sharply in Latin Americaand the Caribbean, in Central andEastern Europe, East Asia and thePacific. Particularly dramaticprogress has occurred in Morocco,Vietnam and the Dominican Repub-lic (under-five mortality reduced bymore than one-third); Madagascar(41 per cent drop); and Sao Tomeand Principe (48 per cent drop).

Much of the progress, saysUNICEF, is the result of the wide-spread adoption of basic healthinterventions, such as early andexclusive breast feeding, measlesimmunization, Vitamin A supple-mentation and the use of insecti-cide-treated bed nets to prevent



Voice of the peoplecontinued from page 14

sources between “the people and the pri-vate sector.” He added that “citizens in thiscountry think it insufficient that the statekeeps only 50 per cent of these benefits”,while another government official, AlexisMera, said that “this measure is triggering areal revolution in Ecuador, since now ourmain asset is going to benefit real people,not just companies. This is true justice anda coming back of real politics by and forpeople”, said Mera.

If oil prices remain at current levels,Correa’s move will boost government in-come by US$69 million (€49 million) permonth starting in November 2007, and byUS$828 million (€588 million) a year. (Source:La Hora, Ecuador; El País, Spain; Interna-tional Herald Tribune, USA)

Romanian villagersresist big businessIn the mountains of a Transylvanian countyin Romania is the small community of RosiaMontana – the unlikely setting for a battlebetween big foreign business and villagers.The business is literally dirty and polluting,which is why many of the 3,500 inhabitantsare resisting a Canadian gold mining corpo-ration’s efforts to start exploiting local re-sources.

Rosia Montana, about 600km northwestof the capital Bucharest, is the site of an-cient mining activity because of its verylarge gold deposits, but Gold Corporationof Canada is not welcomed by all, for anumber of reasons. The area is very valu-able archaeologically; it has a rich historicaland cultural heritage. The methods GoldCorporation plans to use could cause seri-ous pollution; it proposes to extract the goldby open quarry exploitation and to use cya-nide for metal separation.

A large core group of Rosia Montanavillagers has resisted the blandishments andpromises of Gold Corporation for the past11 years, despite the fact that the region’spopulation is generally poor with unemploy-ment standing at 70 per cent. “It is not aboutmoney”, say some of the locals.

The Canadian company plans to startextracting gold in Rosia in 2009 and theywould exhaust the gold deposits withinabout 15 years. The mining company saysit will create 6,000 jobs in the area.

However, ancient houses are being de-molished and locals relocated to a “NewRosia Montana”. If the mining goes aheadthe four peaks which surround the villagewould disappear, replaced by gaping holesleaving scenery irreparably changed andaltering the local ecosystem.

Cyanide pollution is what the core groupof protestors fear most. The activist groupRomania Without Cyanide says Gold Cor-poration plans to use 10 to 13 million kilo-grams of sodium cyanide a year. With thehighly toxic chemical kept in protectedpools, it could easily percolate into the soiland groundwater. In addition, toxic hydro-cyanic acid would be released into the air,claims a report by Romania Without Cya-nide.

The mining company’s presence hassplit the community with some people poorenough to need to take the Corporation’soffers. Locals who have refused to move orgive up their properties talk of intimidation.

Despite such poor odds, there may bereason for optimism: the Social-DemocraticParty, the largest opposition force in thecountry, announced recently that it wouldsupport a law to prohibit use of cyanide,and Romania’s Environment Ministry hasjust announced that it has decided to sus-pend the authorization process of the RosiaMontana gold mine project for an unlimitedperiod, reports Romanian news. (Source:NewsIn, Romania; Hotnews.ro;earthworksaction.org; Inter Press Service)

London marchers defy banThe peace demonstration in Londonplanned for 8 October 2007, organized bythe Stop the War Coalition, took place suc-cessfully, in spite of a police ban on pro-tests within one mile of Westminster whileParliament is sitting. Defying the police warn-ing, veteran campaigner Tony Benn in-formed the government in advance that heintended to march to Westminster anyway.The march coincided with Prime MinisterGordon Brown’s speech to the House ofCommons about the Iraq war.

Protestors gathered in Trafalgar Squareand, thanks to a large turnout and high pro-file leaders, the ban was lifted an hour be-fore the march was scheduled to begin.

According to the organizers, at least5,000 people attended, “a hugely impressiveturnout for a weekday.” They claimed theattempt to stop it had swelled the number ofsupporters. Many colleges brought their

biggest delegations since the pre-war marchon 15 February 2003. “Had there been onlya few dozen there, the ban would probablyhave remained in force and the demo wouldhave been confined to Trafalgar Square,”said one protestor. (Source: stopwar.org.uk;Yorkshire Post, UK)

malaria. Other factors included appropriatetreatment of pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseasesand severe malnutrition, treatment of paedi-atric HIV/AIDS, and hygiene promotion andaccess to safe drinking water and sanita-tion.

Of the 9.7 million child deaths reportedin the survey, 3.1 million are from South Asia,and 4.8 million from Sub-Saharan Africa,where many countries managed to reducerates by more than 20 per cent. The highestrates, however, were found in West andCentral African countries, and the spread ofHIV/AIDS had undermined successes insouthern Africa.

But with the current unprecedented lev-els of support for global health, UNICEFbelieves that the Millennium DevelopmentGoal of reducing child deaths by two-thirdsby 2015 could be met by Latin America andthe Caribbean. “The new figures show thatprogress is possible if we act with renewedurgency to scale-up interventions that haveproven successful,” said Veneman. (Source:UNICEF; BBC, UK)

Empowering underprivilegedchildrenFunds raised from a concert in honour ofthe late singer-songwriter John Lennon willall go to empowering underprivileged chil-dren in Asia and Africa. Lennon’s widow,Yoko Ono, said that the money raised fromsimilar events since her husband’s death hashelped build 50 schools – the original tar-get. Now proceeds from the “John Lennon:Super Live” concerts will be dedicated tobuilding another 50 schools. Lennon wasalways a great believer in the importance ofeducation. Ono herself is convinced thateducation is the best means of helping chil-dren improve their lives. She is determinedto raise awareness of social problemsthrough art and music. (Source: NikkeiWeekly, Japan)

Maitreya’s prioritiescontinued from page 17

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André Azoulay is the Advisor to theKing of Morocco, first to KingHassan II, and today to King Mo-hammed VI. In addition to his pro-fessional responsibilities, he hasfought for over 30 years for peaceand dialogue between the ArabMuslim world and the Jewish com-munities in Europe, the UnitedStates and Morocco as well as theArab and Jewish diasporas world-wide. In this context Mr Azoulaywas one of the initiators of theCasablanca Conference and re-cipient of the prestigious Légiond’Honneur of France. He foundedthe “Identity and Dialogue” As-sociation, which strives to nurtureand preserve the cultural identityof Jews from North Africa and pro-mote ongoing dialogue betweenJews and Arabs. He is co-chairmanof the Shimon Peres Center forPeace and a member of the Boardof the Euro-Mediterranean Forum,the Foundation for the Protectionof Judeo-Moroccan Heritage, theC-100 (Davos Forum) for the Dia-logue of Civilizations and Reli-gions, and the Three Cultures andReligions Foundation, based inSeville, Spain.

our modern identity, although this alsomeans responsibility: the responsibility tosend a different signal to the rest of the Araband Jewish communities to show them thatJews and Muslims can live in peace together.We belong to the same family. We share thesame memories, and we are confronted bythe same challenge.

My Rabbi once said: “There is nomeaning in being Jewish if you do notlook after your neighbour first, and if yourneighbour does not enjoy the same val-ues, the same respect as you. My neigh-bour today in my mind is Palestinian. Untilthe Palestinian people recover their dig-nity, their freedom, I feel my Judaism isweaker and hurt.” For this reason it is vi-tal to build bridges between Muslim andJewish communities – wherever there areconflicts – and to pave the way for dia-logue and peace.

SI: In what way could Morocco bean example to the communities inIsrael/Palestine, to show that Jewsand Muslims can indeed co-existpeacefully side by side?AA: The political situation in Mo-rocco is, as we know, different fromthat in Palestine or Israel, and can-not be compared. Also, we shouldnot forget that the conflict betweenIsrael and Palestine is not cultur-ally or religiously based, but politi-cal. We should not take the differ-ences in culture and religion as apretext for the conflict, but worktowards a political solution.

Nevertheless, we Jewish com-munities especially do have a mes-sage for the people in Israel andPalestine, and that says: in order tomake a viable approach possible itis necessary to move away from theaccustomed dogmatic and ideologi-cal methods that have had so littlesuccess, and to try new ways.

In this context we created the“Identité et Dialogue” group in1974 in Paris. It was the first non-governmental organization (NGO)at that time to be formed consistingof Jewish intellectuals calling for aPalestinian State living in peace

White Paper for a peaceful Middle EastInterview with André Azoulayby Andrea Bistrich

André Azoulay

In 2005, he, with 19 other prominentleaders in their fields, was nominated amember of the highly prestigious Allianceof Civilizations, set up by the General Sec-retary of the United Nations, which ad-dresses the issue of the relations betweenIslam and the Western World. AndreaBistrich interviewed him for Share Inter-national.

Share International: Mr Azoulay, you comefrom a Jewish community and yet your func-tion and position as Senior Advisor toMohammed VI of Morocco is deeply an-chored in the Muslim world. What does itmean to you being Jewish in a Muslim coun-try?André Azoulay: As an Arab Jew I’m part ofthis larger regional, geographical, philo-sophical and culturally diverse community.Its richness of traditions plays a key role in

alongside Israel.

SI: You are member of the High-LevelGroup of the Alliance of Civilizations(AOC), an initiative by former UN Secre-tary-General Kofi Annan. How would youdescribe the AOC’s potential?AA: Our world today is alarmingly out ofbalance. Therefore, the aim of the Allianceis to support projects that promote under-standing and reconciliation among culturesglobally.

In fact we were addressing the issue ofrelations between Islam and the rest of theworld. For instance why 9/11 happened;why were there the London bombings [7July 2005] and why Casablanca [16 May2003]? Why are we confronted with such aregressive situation? In trying to understandthe global situation we have also tried topropose a way out. Really to try to put an


end to this atmosphere of suspicion, offears, to all those clichés and stereotypesthat are spoiling the vision, the understand-ing and the knowledge of what it means tobe an Arab or Muslim.

One of the main findings of the Allianceis that the chief causes of the growing rift inour world are not religion or history, but re-cent political developments, notably the Is-rael-Palestine conflict. Problems arise fromintolerant minorities on both sides – ratherthan from cultures as a whole.

SI: What practical suggestions does theAlliance give?AA: There is no simple answer and we donot have miracle solutions. Nevertheless,the AOC has analysed and presented rec-ommendations in four thematic areas: edu-cation, youth, migration, and the media. TheAlliance released an implementation planwhich sets out a range of educationalprojects and initiatives over the next twoyears, including a media fund to promoteproductions developed across cultural, re-ligious and/or national lines, a Youth Em-ployment Centre aimed at increasing workopportunities for young people in the Mid-dle East, a project aimed at expanding inter-national student exchange programmes, etc.This has been presented to the public bythe High Level Group representative, formerpresident of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, whowas appointed recently.

SI: The report of the AOC argues that pov-erty as well as globalization have an im-

pact on contributing to the discord. Couldyou specify in what ways?AA: It is true that poverty and an unbal-anced economic situation is fuelling resent-ment. In fact, the increasing gap betweenrich and poor is eroding global solidarity.Poverty leads to a sense of despair, injus-tice and alienation, and out of that canemerge extremism when combined with po-litical grievances. The overcoming of pov-erty must thus be made a priority.

Nevertheless, poverty is not the causefor the growing divide. When you look at,for instance, who the fundamentalists onboth sides are, you will see that they areoften quite well situated. At the same time,we find very poor and weak people drawninto the kamikaze role; they are weak enoughto be instrumentalized by the fundamental-ists to act as human bombs.

In the Alliance’s High-level report wegave recommendations with regard to howto fight poverty and economic imbalance.But we can only be truly successful if ouractions are included within an internationalcommunity of nations working jointly toimplement the Millennium DevelopmentGoals.

SI: The Alliance has called for renewed ef-fort from the international community toresolve the Middle East crisis. What areyour recommendations to the political lead-ers of the world in this regard?AA: Together with Mr Hubert Védrine I wasable to add a separate chapter on this issueto the AOC’s general report, wherein we rec-

ommend the development of a White Paperanalysing the Israeli-Palestinian conflictobjectively. This means in particular: allow-ing expression of the opposing views byanalysing the successes and failures of pastpeace initiatives, and by drawing up clearcriteria and guidelines that must be met if asolution to the crisis is to be attained. Adocument of this kind would be of tremen-dous impact by providing a clear founda-tion to all who are involved in the effort toresolve this conflict and is a basic neces-sity.

The Palestinian people need full ac-knowledgment of their struggle, their stig-matization, and the price they have paid bythe occupation of their land for decades andfor the many disappointments that theyhave had to endure. At the same time, theIsraeli fears must be confronted and dis-persed. This is of utmost importance: thatboth sides mutually recognize the differ-ences in viewpoint. For most Jews and Is-raelis, for example, the building of the stateof Israel was an aspiration of many to es-tablish their own homeland, but it was soonattacked by neighbouring Arab countries.For the Palestinians on the other side, theestablishment of this new state of Israel wasexperienced as an act of aggression andhundreds of thousands were driven fromtheir land which was then illegally occupied.

SI: What does the word “justice” in theMiddle East really mean?AA: For me it starts with having a viable


“Poverty leads to asense of despair,injustice and alienation”


FACTS AND FORECASTS

Over the years, Share International hasprinted articles outlining Maitreya’sexpectations concerning political,social, environmental and spiritualchanges in the world, as presented to usby one of Maitreya’s associates in theLondon community in which He lives.From time to time, both Benjamin Cremeand his Master have shared theirprognosis of future developments. Inthis section, “Facts and forecasts”, ourstaff monitors recent news, events andcomments bearing on these insights.

Step by step, men will set in motion the re-quirements of the future. These must respectthe destiny and free will of all. The right tothe essentials of life: food, shelter,healthcare and education, must conditionthe direction of all governments’ actions.The safeguarding of the environment —with all that that entails — must become asacred duty which will allow men, in time,to nurse this planet back to health. (AMaster Speaks )Worldwatch, the global environmental moni-toring agency, welcomed the awarding ofthe Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and to theUN Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) as a “triumph for the planetand its inhabitants”. Worldwatch issued apress release headlined “Planet Wins NobelPrize”.

“It is with extreme satisfaction that wereceive the news that Gore and the IPCChave been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,”said Oystein Dahle, Chairman of the Boardof Worldwatch Institute and a leading Nor-wegian environmentalist. Speaking from hishome in Oslo where the Prize was an-nounced, Dahle said: “With their decision,the Nobel Committee has for the secondtime signalled that peace with the environ-ment is an essential requirement if we are tohave peace between human beings.”

Asked for his reaction former US VicePresident Gore, whose documentary film AnInconvenient Truth won an Oscar at the 2007Academy Awards, said he hoped the awardwould bring a “greater awareness and asense of urgency” to the fight against glo-bal warming.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee saidthat the impact of the prize winners’ workhas helped to “lay the foundations for themeasures that are needed to counteract [cli-mate] change”.

The Committee praised the contributionmade by the IPCC with its more than twodecades of scientific reports comprising theexpertise of more than 2,000 leading climatechange scientists and experts. It was suchreports, said the Nobel Committee, whichgradually built a broader and better informed“consensus about the connection betweenhuman activities and global warming”.

Of Al Gore, the Committee said: “He is

probably the single individual who has donemost to create greater worldwide under-standing of the measures that need to beadopted.”

“We face a true planetary emergency,”Mr Gore warned. “It is a moral and spiritualchallenge to all of humanity.” Asked whathe intended to do with his share of the prizemoney (in total $1.5m) Gore said that he isdonating it to the Alliance for Climate Pro-tection.

The IPCC report stated that with globalwarming will come storms, droughts, floodsand increased natural disasters and so taxthe world’s food and water systems. Thesein their turn can be cause for conflicts overterritory and resources. The world’s poor,who already suffer from a lack of clean wa-ter, sanitation and food security, will be mostdirectly affected.

“Climate change is the greatest long-term threat to peace and security the worldhas ever known,” says Christopher Flavin,Worldwatch Institute President. “This prizemarks another turning point for the climateissue – the question now is whether law-makers around the world will rise to the chal-lenge of implementing new treaties and lawsthat reduce the world’s dangerous addic-tion to fossil fuels.” (Source: WorldwatchPress Release; BBC Online; Nobelprize.org)

SOS for world’s oceansThe Worldwatch Institute, the environmen-tal monitoring agency, has just issued apress release entitled “SOS for Fading OceanLife”.

The Institute’s most recent and verycomprehensive report Oceans in Peril: Pro-tecting Marine Biodiversity contains anurgent appeal for the creation of “nationalparks of the sea”, in other words, marinereserves. According to Worldwatch suchreserves “may be the only effective way toreverse trends that have left 76 per cent ofworld fish stocks fully- or over-exploited andmarine biodiversity at severe risk.”

Gore’s win a triumph for planet

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and to the UN Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC) is a triumph for the planet and its inhabitants


“The oceans cannot save themselves,”says Christopher Flavin, president of theWorldwatch Institute. “Collective commit-ments to thriving ecosystems are needed tosave overfished species from being system-atically depleted from compromised habi-tats.”

The decline in fish stocks and the in-crease of marine pollution is blamed on fish-ing policies, indiscriminate and harmfulmethods of fishing, the rise in sea tempera-tures due to human-induced global warm-ing as well as chemical and oil spills.

“Pollution from chemical, radioactive,and nutrient sources; oil spills; and marinedebris can contaminate the marine environ-ment, kill organisms, and undermine ecosys-tem integrity. Of particular concern is theeffect on marine wildlife of persistent or-ganic pollutants (POPs), especially thosechemicals not yet regulated under the 2001Stockholm Convention, such as brominatedflame retardants. Marine debris, includingplastics and derelict fishing gear, is respon-sible for causing death and injury to manymarine species, among them seabirds, tur-tles, and marine mammals. Large oxygen-depleted ‘dead zones’, made worse by ex-cessive nitrogen runoff from fertilizers, sew-age discharges, and other sources, are fur-ther signs that the oceans are under severestress.”

SolutionsThe Worldwatch Institute put forward anumber of proposals in its media releasewhich, if implemented, might help to stabi-lize and eventually revive the world’s oceans.The report also cited a number of examplesof marine revival, one of which was at theSoufriere Marine Management Area in StLucia in the Caribbean, where “three yearsof protection tripled the biomass of com-mercial fish species within the closed re-serves. After five years, in areas outside thereserves, biomass doubled and averagecatches per trip increased 46 to 90 per centdepending on the size of trap used”.

The Report’s authors also recommendthat negotiations on fish and fish productsshould be removed from the World TradeOrganization and into other multilateral fo-rums which are not dominated by commer-cial and trade interests. They call for an endto agreements that allow industrial coun-tries to fish liberally in developing-countrywaters: in the case of tuna fishing in the

Pacific, the economic return from access feesand licenses paid by foreign fleets is at most5 per cent of the $2 billion the fish is worth.Fairer deals would allow coastal states tomanage resources on a more sustainablebasis and ensure continued livelihoods forcommunities. (Source: Worldwatch InstitutePress Release)

Chemicals threateninghuman reproductionOn 11 September 2007, in Greenland’s capi-tal Nuuk, a symposium of religious, scien-tific and environmental leaders gathered tolook into the effects of environmental pol-lution in the Arctic. Scientists from the Arc-tic Monitoring and Assessment Programme(AMAP) presented their initial alarming find-ings: that twice as many girls as boys arebeing born in some Arctic villages becauseof high levels of man-made chemicals in theblood of pregnant women.

The scientists measured the man-madechemicals in women’s blood that mimic hu-man hormones and concluded that theywere capable of triggering changes in thesex of unborn children in the first threeweeks of gestation. The chemicals, carriedin the mother’s bloodstream through theplacenta to the foetus, can switch hormonesto create girl children.

Further investigations are taking placein communities in Russia, Greenland and

Canada to try to discover the extent of theimbalance in Inuit communities of the north.In some communities of Greenland and east-ern Russia the ratio has been found to betwo girls to one boy, but in one village inGreenland only girls have been born.

Lars-Otto Reierson, executive secretaryfor AMAP, said: “We knew that the levelsof man-made chemicals were accumulatingin the food chain, and that seals, whalesand particularly polar bears were getting adose a million times higher than that exist-ing in plankton, and that this could be toxicto humans who ate these higher animals.What was shocking was that they were alsoable to change the sex of children beforebirth.”

Scientists believe a number of man-madechemicals used in electrical equipment fromgenerators, televisions and computers thatmimic human hormones are implicated.These are carried by rivers and wind to theArctic where they accumulate in the foodchain and in the bloodstreams of the largelymeat and fish-eating Inuit communities.

Aqqaluk Lynge, from Greenland, theformer chairman of the Inuit CircumpolarConference, said: “This is a disaster, espe-cially for some 1,500 people who make upthe Inuit nations in the far north east ofRussia. Here in the north of Greenland, inthe villages near the Thule American base,only girl babies are being born to Inuit fami-lies. The problem is acute in the north and

FACTS AND FORECASTS

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Twice as many girls as boys are being born in some Arctic villages because of high levelsof man-made chemicals in the blood of pregnant women


A peaceful Middle Eastcontinued from page 20

and sovereign Palestinian State living sideby side with Israel. It starts at that point andit will end at that point. Failure to solve itwould be disastrous for the world. Further-more, true justice means mutual respect,mutual confidence and trust. I hope that oneday the Israelis as a people will consider thePalestinian freedom as their own freedomand as a value for their children and fami-lies. We can no longer have different treat-ment or consideration when we speak aboutdignity, justice, freedom; it must be the samefor both. You cannot have a double-stand-ard culture, it’s over. We all have paid theprice.

So, in order to overcome the current situ-ation, we need a clear vision of future pos-sibilities for this region, along with true cour-age on the part of both Israelis and Pales-tinians, and also on the part of influentialcountries involved – especially America andthe permanent members of the SecurityCouncil.

SI: According to opinion polls, even mostIsraelis want to see an end to the occupa-tion, but they do not think the current gen-eration of politicians can deliver a solu-tion. When discussing the war in 1967 to-gether with the fact that Israel missed thechance for a peaceful solution in those days,a former Israeli Cabinet Minister recentlysaid: “Today we can make peace and wearen’t trying.”AA: The majority of Israelis support the

Two-State Solution. There is no alternativeto that. The people seem to understand his-tory better than their leaders. They knowthat Israel’s security is tied to the Palestin-ians’ wellbeing. The leadership is becomingweaker and more and more confused now.On both sides, Israel and Palestine, the prob-lem is the lack of leadership which does notseem to be able to face the challenge to makepeace.

SI: The Arabs have a saying that goes: “Warstarts with words”. Both Arab and Westernmedia have responsibility in that regard.Is the media leading the world to more un-derstanding or new strife?AA: Indeed, the media plays a basic, vitalrole in this respect. You cannot deal withsuch dossiers, if you don’t have the correctintermediation with public opinion. Every-thing is dependent on communication: in-formation, education and knowledge is con-veyed through the media. Unfortunatelysome media have inflamed the minds of mil-lions of people – just by manipulating real-ity. This is especially the case when West-ern media largely give voice to extreme reli-gious Islamic groups and also the most anti-Muslim ideologues in the West. This one-sided media coverage leads to polarizationand mutual hostility. A clear example of thisis the distortion of the true meaning of theword ‘jihad’. It has gained a negative con-notation whereas in its true connotation ithas a positive meaning, being either an in-ner struggle against weaknesses and evilthat dwells within each individual (greater‘jihad’) or the defence of one’s community(lesser ‘jihad’). In the way the word is usedby Western media it has lost its positiveconnotations and instead is related with vio-lence and extremism.

SI: How could the media be broughtaround to contributing to the defusing ofthe tensions, and not to see it merely as aninfringement of their press freedom?AA: I don’t see it as such. Like anyone elsejournalists are not free of obligations andsanctions. They have ethics and rules torespect.

Many of the problems today arise at themeeting between politics and religion. Oneof the main influences, in view of the presentclimate of fear and suspicion, is the deroga-tory and violent use of language which canhave a very destructive effect, especiallywhen disseminated by the press. It is herethat politicians and the media, who mould

east of Greenland where people still havethe traditional diet. This has become a criti-cal question of people’s survival but fewgovernments want to talk about the prob-lem of hormone mimickers because it meansthinking about the chemicals you use. I thinkthey need to be tested much more stringentlybefore they are allowed on the market.”

The gender balance of the human race,which up to now has been a slight excess ofboys over girls, has recently changed. Apaper published in 2007 in the US NationalInstitute of Environmental Health Sciencessaid that in Japan and the US there were250,000 fewer boys than would have beenexpected, had the sex ratio existing in 1970remained unchanged. The paper was unableto confirm the cause for the new excess ofgirls over boys. (Source: The Guardian, UK)

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Trendscontinued from page 10

that “we want to integrate, now as a prior-ity, policies of equality for the empowermentand the actual freedom for women, promot-ing parity in the three powers of the state:executive, legislative, and legal.”

She added that Latin American govern-ments should take advantage of the “newtimes to work together for eradicating anyform of exclusion of women in society”, es-pecially in the field of education, health, andaccess to paid work. In this regard, Paredesreminded the audience that the “Quito Con-sensus” had been passed – a documentdrawn up in August 2007 in Ecuador inwhich representatives of 33 countries calledtogether by the Latin America EconomicCommission asked for a full acknowledge-ment of women’s participation in the worksector, as well as their participation in poli-tics. (Source: El País, Spain)

Sustainable banking –a new trendJust one week after the Netherlandsbranches of Friends of the Earth and Oxfamannounced that the four biggest Dutchbanks are failing seriously in socially respon-sible policies such as sustainability, thou-sands of clients changed to two other banks[ASN Bank and Triodos] known for theiractive policy with regard to sustainabilityand socially responsible investment. Anumber of organizations also withdrew fromdubious investments revealed by the en-quiry. The Queen Wilhelmina Fund againstCancer ended its investment in the tobaccoindustry, while the Dutch Society for theProtection of Animals disposed of invest-ments in pesticides as well as investmentsin companies which are active in Burmawhich is being boycotted by the UnitedNations. (Source: de Volkskrant, the Neth-erlands)

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and influence public opinion, have a spe-cial responsibility in uniting peoples anddiffering beliefs, by creating a climate ofmutual respect and understanding. Havingsuch a strong influence, both of thesegroups must be most careful in their use oflanguage so as to avoid insulting and de-grading other people’s belief systems andsacred symbols.(Further information: unaoc.org) •

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,On Sunday 2 September 2007 my son and Iwere viewing a production of Jane Austen’sEmma on television. Quite unexpectedly,reception of the transmission was sus-pended and was replaced by a large headand shoulder image of an Afro-Americanman seemingly in the same guise thatMaitreya used as a homeless New York fluteplayer. (He was wearing the same green jer-sey and black cap.)

The image stayed on screen for about10 seconds and then disappeared. My sonJames, disappointed at the brevity of theevent, remarked: “Come on Maitreya, you’llhave to do better than that!”

Well, remarkably he did, because theAfro-American reappeared during an epi-sode of Coronation Street a few nights later,again just for a few seconds but this timelooking more directly at us.

I have heard of no other person whowitnessed these events, which were per-sonally very reassuring. Can you confirmtheir authenticity?Davina Darby, Christchurch, New Zea-land.(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms thatMaitreya did indeed manifest this sign,appearing on television in the guise of anAfro-American man.)

Two letters from the same person:

Cool rescueDear Editor,We live in a small village in Sicily and aroundsix years ago, together with other parentsfrom the same village, used to take it in turnsto collect our children from the school inthe nearest town, some five kilometres dis-tant. One day it was my turn to pick up the

children. I’d left myself a very short while toget to the school and find a parking place. Ihad about a final mile to drive, when theunthinkable happened.

Firstly, I am not that confident a driver,and am also extremely impractical, and sec-ondly, the car I drove at that time was aRenault Five, rather on its last legs, andgiven to letting me down. And let me downit did, just as I was negotiating the trickiestpart of the journey, hemmed in as part ofthree-lane traffic which did not keep, ever,to rightful lanes but wove in and out ofwhoever afforded a careless inch of spacebetween bumper and boot. The point wasto keep moving, and as I anxiously did so, Inoticed masses of smoke billowing from thecar engine. Other cars roared past, drivershelpfully yelling “Switch off the engine!”as they overtook me. Fortunately I was inthe inside lane and so pulled up andswitched off, but by doing so I obstructed awhole line of traffic behind me. I could havedied from fear. I wouldn’t be able to pick upthe children; I’d left my mobile at home; Ithought the car might well blow up, and hadno idea of what to do or where to find helpor how to get a message to the children orto my husband.

Just as I was about to burst into tears, Inoticed a very strange thing. A bright-yel-low car had pulled up behind me. I won-dered how it had done that, as the traffichad condensed all around me and there lit-erally, was no place behind me to park. Atall, dark, Sicilian-looking man got out of thecar and moved in a very fluid, casual waytowards me. As I was about to burst intoflames myself from panic, I unconsciouslynoted his calm, and also the fact that he wassmoking a cigarette and that his first wordswere calmly and quietly spoken; all of these

things came back to me so clearly after-wards, but at the time I could only feel con-scious of time running out, and worry. Onething struck me, though, forcibly: he didn’tshare my panic at all, and loped his wayamong the traffic, and spoke as though itwere an everyday occurrence, and time noproblem at all. He seemed in a bubble oftotal unconcern for what was happeningaround us. The car radiator was the prob-lem. No water at all. And the man in the yel-low car said: “Don’t worry – I’ve just boughtsome water.” Disbelievingly, I followed inhis wake of calm to his car, and there, on theback seat, were four or five one-litre bottlesof mineral water, unopened. Waiting for me.I think I must have looked at him. How?Why? Unperturbed, he took a couple ofbottles, and very gradually poured water intothe radiator.

I’d told him about picking up the kids –was doubtless hopping from foot to foot ashe worked – and once or twice he said:“Don’t worry. You’ll get there in time.” Even-tually, he asked me to start the engine. Itwas fine. I got out of the car and suddenlydidn’t know how to thank him. He seemedto have not only come with the immediacyof light to my aid but also seemed to havestopped the world for a while whilst hehelped me. I was speechless with gratitude.But I looked into his face and said, impul-sively: “You’re an Angel.” He just smiled.He said: “Oh, I always pass by here at thistime.” But I never saw him or his yellow caragain.

One more thing: looking into his car in-terior when he extracted the water bottles, itseemed absolutely devoid of any object, anypersonal possession – it contained: water.Somehow I’m convinced he was divine, andwas intrigued and also somehow reassured,

Repeat appearance

Over a number of years, some of the Masters,in particular Maitreya and the Master Jesus,have appeared at Benjamin Creme’s lecturesand Transmission Meditations. They also ap-pear, in different guises, to large numbers ofpeople around the world. Some of these re-count their experiences to Share Internationalmagazine. If the experiences are authenticatedby Benjamin Creme’s Master, the letters arepublished.These experiences are given to inspire, to guide

or teach, often to heal and uplift. Very often,too, they draw attention to, or comment on, inan amusing way, some fixed intolerance to, forexample, smoking or drinking. Many times theMasters act as saving ‘angels’ in accidents, duringwartime, earthquakes and other disasters.They use a ‘familiar’, a thoughtform, who seemstotally real, and through whom the Master’sthoughts can be expressed: They can appear as aman, a woman, a child, at will. Occasionally Theyuse the ‘blueprint’ of a real person, but in most

cases the ‘familiar’ is an entirely newcreation. The following letters are examplesof this means of communication by theMasters.Please note: In the absence of any indica-tion to the contrary, the editors will as-sume that your name may be printed.Unless requested otherwise, some of theseletters may be reproduced on the Share-International.org website. Only initials,town and country will be used.


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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that the Divine, in relation to us, is so hu-man and kind and ordinary. Who was thisordinary, extraordinary man?(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that herrescuer was the Master Jesus.)

Instant comfort(2) In August 2007 I was in England, at myparents’ house. Two years ago my mothersuffered a stroke and I feel it part of my lov-ing duty on earth to help both her and myfather, who is 81 and a marvellous carer andman, as much as I can. But of course thepain of their changed existence transmitsitself to me, and if I want or need to cry fromtiredness or the helplessness of it all, I gooutside to my chair in the garage, and withthe door open, observe the garden and therow of fir trees. It is a very peaceful garden.

One day, sitting there, my attention wascaught by a shape on one of the fir treesthat moved in the breeze – I thought it mightbe a dragonfly, which are my favourite in-sects – hoped it was, but on closer inspec-tion it was a leaf, masquerading as a drag-onfly. I was momentarily disappointed. Then,to my amazement, still sitting thinking aboutdragonflies, a real one came into vision andhovered about for a while at exactly the samespot where I’d seen the leaf. I found it sucha beautiful coincidence, as though I’d some-how manifested it myself – conjured it up.But did I? I don’t think so. It was a smallmiracle, but somehow it reminded me of thegifts of life, of hope and possibilities. Stillthere, in the smallest of things.

Should either of these events have beengifted by a Master could you tell me please,anyway, just how they tune into everyoneand everywhere at once?Gill Raciti-Brown, Catania, Sicily, Italy.(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that thedragonfly was manifested by the MasterJesus. The Masters are omniscient.)

Heart of the matterDear Editor,On 14 September 2007 during a paranormalfair a man came up to our information standand looked at the flyers for BenjaminCreme’s upcoming lecture in Amsterdam. Hewas about 45 years old, grey-brown hairwith a light-brown complexion, laughingbrown eyes, a gap between the teeth in thelower jaw, colourfully clothed with a big crys-tal heart pinned on the middle of his shirt.When we encouraged him to take more in-

formation material, he laughed and said witha naughty look in his eyes: “Oh, it is aboutMaitreya isn’t it, that man who always ap-pears as a different person and suddenlydisappears?” I agreed and told him thatMaitreya will be working very soon openlyfor the benefit of the world, but works in thebackground at the moment. He scarcely lis-tened to me but said very decidedly whilehe pointed to a photo of Maitreya in Nai-robi: “He was once in Kenya and he lives inLondon.” Then he pointed to our informa-tion and books and said: “The people areexpecting the Christ or the Buddha or who-ever, but they only offer us an entrance, anopening, in order to reach our innermost self,our source, and there at the source we areable to meet each other.”

He said something else about the Bud-dha but I don’t remember exactly what be-cause I was fascinated by his eyes (theywere very intense) and he spoke so fast.But I felt it was really true and to the point.He wanted us to understand that the mostimportant thing for everyone to do is to goinside to the source, the source we all share,because there we can really meet one an-other. And it is not important who leads youto the source. (I think he meant the variousreligions, prophets, etc.) Then he walked onand said, laughing, but in a very resoluteway: “That is how I do it”.

A little further away he stood still, ayoung woman with long blond hair joinedhim, and they both walked away. We wereimpressed and I still think of him. Could youtell me please who he was?Betty Grossman, Den Haag, the Nether-lands.(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that theman was Maitreya. The fair-haired ‘woman’was the Master Jesus.)

Something to think aboutDear Editor,On Saturday 22 September 2007, a co-workerand I had a table with free literature at aBody-Mind-Spirit fair in an old church inthe centre of Zwolle. We were surprised tosee so many people come to our table andwhen I returned from a moment of absence,a co-worker was in conversation with anAmerican-Indian lady. She had a very warmpersonality – 100 per cent alive, being com-pletely ‘present’. Something was very mov-ing about her. Her black hair was quite longand she wore a short, black skirt, black wool-

len stockings and long boots. She wore agolden bracelet across her hand, tied to aring.

Looking over our table she asked: “Do Ihave everything about Maitreya?” afterputting some information in her bag. Shepointed at her heart, saying: “But in the end,it all comes down to ourselves, doesn’t it?”Because she seemed to talk quickly, wefound it difficult to remember afterwardsexactly what she said, but it was somethinglike: “The body is nothing, nothing at all.The eyes do not see by themselves: there issomeone or something who looks throughthem. The brain cannot think by itself: thereis someone or something who thinksthrough it.” Pointing to her ajna chakra, andthen upwards, she said: “The ‘other’ is athought, a mere thought.” She added: “Oth-ers do not really exist for us, do they? Ex-cept as a thought. There is only energy –everything, everyone is energy. It does nothelp to go and sit on a mountain, does it? Itis better to go through it all than to sit on amountain.” A little later I saw her standingnearby, as she was surveying the hall.

While driving to the fair that morningwe had been exchanging thoughts on unityof consciousness – that in our minds weunderstood it, but in day-to-day living it isnot so easy to experience – so these wordstherefore made sense to us.

Could you please tell me if she was aMaster?Rita-M. Linnenkamp, Lelystad, the Nether-lands.(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the‘woman’ was the Master Jesus.)

Hand-signDear Editor,On Friday 28 September 2007 I attended ourmorning Transmission Meditation in Madi-son. Then driving back to my office at mid-day, while changing lanes to make a turn, Igot behind a workman’s van. On the rightside back door of the van was an imprint ofa hand. It was grey. I didn’t think too muchof it except to wonder why they imprintedone hand on the back of their van. Later onI wondered if it was a manifestation ofMaitreya?Ellen Turgasen, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that thehandprint was manifested by Maitreya. Itis one of many which Maitreya is manifest-ing in different parts of the world.)


QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Benjamin Creme doesnot seek to set himselfup as an arbiter of theauthenticity of othergroups’ activities andcommunications.Please refrain fromposing such questions.

Q. We have questions to the Hierarchy about adoption of chil-dren. ‘Adoption’ in the following questions means: a) the adop-tion of children by a married childless couple; b) adoption ofchildren by a married couple with their own children; c) adopt-ing the partner’s child from a former relationship. What does thehierarchy think about adoption of children in general?A. Hierarchy is very much in favour of the adoption of parentlesschildren. They are not in favour of the adoption by relatively richpeople in the West of poor children who are not parentless, fromother, mainly Eastern countries.

Q. Is there a difference between the three different above men-tioned forms of adoption (a to c)?A. Basically not, although each situation could be different.

Q. On which conditions is adoption all right?A. If the child is without parents and the adopting couple are readyto give their love and protection to the child as if it were their own.

Q. Is it better for a child to grow up in an institution-home forchildren in its country of origin or in a family as an adopted child?A. In a family.

Q. Is adoption a helpful process to give a child a better chance togrow up in an intact family?A. Yes.

Q. Is adoption an inadmissible intervention in the life of a childwith disadvantageous consequences for the child?A. Not usually.

Q. If a couple adopt a child, should the parents have the samecountry of origin as the child that they want to adopt?A. Not important.

Q. Is it alright that the parents and the child that they want toadopt, have different nationalities of origin?A. Yes.

Q. What does the Hierarchy think about adoption of childrenwith other races than the parents?A. It is acceptable if the other requirements of adoption are met.

Q. What is the best age of the child for adoption?A. As young as possible.

Q. From which age upwards should the child not be adopted?A. Above 14 it is usually too late for the child to bond fully, but thisneed not rule out adoption.

Q. Which requirements should parents meet for an adoption of achild?A. If they can give love and protection to the child as if s/he weretheir own.

Q. What is the attitude of Hierarchy to adoption by gay couplesand single people?

A. Hierarchy knows that adoption by gay couples and single peo-ple often results in a perfectly happy outcome for both child andparents. However from the point of view of Hierarchy only a stableheterosexual couple can provide ideal role models for the growingchild.

Q. On 17 April 1981 a Japanese freighter, the Taki Kyoto Maru,was sailing off the coast of Japan in an area of the ocean knownas ‘The Dragon’s Triangle’ when the crew felt something equiva-lent to shockwaves course through the ship. A bright, saucer-shaped USO (Underwater Submerged Object, or a UFO under thewater) about 50 feet in diameter arose from the ocean. The ship’sdials, compass and engine ‘blurred’. The USO circled the ship forabout 15 minutes and plunged into the sea causing massive wavesthat nearly capsized the Japanese freighter. The time on the radioin comparison to the time on the crew’s watches showed that thecrew lost 15 minutes.(1) Why did the equipment ‘blur’ when the UFO came near? (2)Why did the crew experience a loss of 15 minutes of time? (3) Isthere anything in that area such as an underwater UFO base thatcould cause electromagnetic disturbance and distortions in time,or was it perhaps old Lemurian technology still operating underthe sea etc?A. (1) This is usual in such encounters. The effect of electromag-netic ‘swamping’. (2) Same reason. (3) Yes, UFO base (not Lemuriantechnology).

Q. I may be going out on a limb here, but I read about the connec-tion between the Space Brothers and the Hierarchy. I’ve alwaysthought there was a connection there somewhere. My question is(1) will there be a day when the existence of our Space Brothersis finally declared to all of us? (2) Will it be in my lifetime, I’m 51years old?A. (1) Yes. (2) Yes.

Q. (1) Maitreya talks of salvation: could you please explain sal-vation? (2) From what is it that we need to be saved? (3) I thoughtthat Maitreya was not coming as a Saviour but as a Teacher andGuide.


QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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A. (1) Maitreya does not present Himself as a saviour. Salvation isthe process of coming into the likeness of the soul and only weourselves can do it. (2) From our ignorance and illusion. We do notsee reality as it is. (3) That is truly the case. We can save ourselvesby correct response to the teachings of Maitreya. These teachingsawaken us to the reality of our own soul and so enable us, eventu-ally, to demonstrate the divine nature of the soul.

Q. (1) Is it true that some people are not related by karma to theirimmediate families? (2) If so, why does this happen? (3) If we arenot related by karma to our direct relatives (parents and sib-lings) does that make family life more difficult? Would there beless mutual understanding in such circumstances? (4) Are we notgenerally born in groups? (5) The notion seems strange sinceyou would share genetic material but have no ‘past’ in common.A. (1) Yes, it is rare but it occurs. (2) It is the action of the life whichhas many mysteries. It brings into an incarnating group a new anddifferent energy or stimulus and prepares the way for some soul-envisaged purpose. (3) Not necessarily. (4) Yes, but a group is adynamic process. (5) Life is very inventive and creative.

Q. Is the Holy Shroud in Turin Cathedral a garment worn byJesus or by the Madonna? How has that shroud and other sacredtextile relics been so well preserved since fabric is pretty fragileand susceptible to decay?A. The Holy Shroud in Turin is the authentic burial shroud ofJesus. The figure of Jesus (crucified), is a photograph (a negativephotograph) imparted to the shroud by Maitreya Who overshad-owed Jesus for the last three years of His life. The shroud hassurvived a fire which destroyed parts of the fabric but the figure ofJesus is well preserved as is the majority of the 1st Century fabric.

Q. Please can you tell me what Maitreya says regarding patientswho are being denied medication for Cancer and Alzheimer’sdisease, when drugs are already available for them. The govern-ment says it is not cost effective, but how can they say that whenpeople’s lives are at stake and their quality of life can be im-proved. What can we do to try to persuade the government thatthis is totally wrong, and unacceptable? They don’t seem to lis-ten to ordinary people.A. Maitreya does not address such questions directly but He talksabout the need for world change, and it is precisely these dailyproblems of people that should be addressed in any sane society.When we accept the principle of sharing and reconstruct our world,then the allocation of funds for such purposes can be achievedwithout difficulty.

Q. In message number 13 Maitreya says: “Begin by dedicatingyourself and all that you are and have been to the service of theworld. Make sure not one day passes without some act of trueservice and be assured that My help will be yours.”

If Maitreya expects me to commit to serving the world, He askstoo much. I have to survive too and make a living. I cannot serveeach day and work too. I can serve every once in a while, likeonce a week but “every day” is asking too much. Also, in Maitreya’sTeachings – The Laws of Life, Maitreya says when a person isdepressed he gets drugs to avoid experiencing it and He tells us

to “sit quietly and experience what you are going through”, to“observe and be detached.” Implied in these statements is a ratherflip attitude about depression. I have struggled with depressionfor years and take medication for it. It seems like he is putting medown for taking medication. You cannot just “detach” your wayout of it. It is a debilitating disease. I could not function whendepressed, I need medicine so I can work and support myself.When the whirlwind of negative thoughts swirl in your brain youcan’t detach. It is impossible. He doesn’t say whether detachingwill cure you of it. Even so, regardless, trying to stay detached allthe time is simply too difficult to do when you are depressed.Again, Maitreya asks too much of us and me.A. I am sure that many people would agree with you but neverthe-less I suggest you try to do what Maitreya advises and I think youwill be surprised how relatively quickly things will begin to changewithin you. Maitreya does not suggest you have to serve all dayevery day but a word or an act of kindness is also service and cantake only a few moments. Begin to serve and it will have a blossom-ing effect within you. You will want to serve and be able to moreand more.You have to begin the process step by step and throughusing the photograph of His hand ask for Maitreya’s help.

People and their raysA ray is, according to the Master DK, “but a name for a particular forceor type of energy, with the emphasis upon the quality which that forceexhibits.” Rays thus qualify all creation, including the human constitu-tion. Soul, personality, mental body, emotional body, physical body,all are coloured by one or other of the seven rays.

In order to facilitate study and comprehension of the rays,Benjamin Creme’s Master, over the years, has kindly provided re-quested information on the ray structure (and point of evolution) ofwell-known individuals, but for reasons of privacy, never of livingpeople. The figures in the given order represent: (S) Soul ray; (P) per-sonality, major and (sub) ray; (M) mental body, major and (sub) ray;(A) astral/emotional body, major and (sub) ray; (Ph) physical body,major and (sub) ray; (PoE) point of evolution.

For more detailed information we refer you to the Alice Baileyteachings (Lucis Trust), books by Benjamin Creme and back issues ofShare International.

Recently given structures:

Jane Tomlinson (1964-2007) English athlete and campaigner forcancer charitiesS: 2; P: 4 (3); M: 6 (6); A: 6 (2); Ph: 3 (7). PoE: 1.2

Ulrich Mühe (1953-2007) German actorS: 2; P: 4 (4); M: 3 (4); A: 2 (6); Ph: 7 (3). PoE: 1.35

Leonard George Cramp (1919-2006) British aerospace engineer,scientist and authorS: 2; P: 4 (6); M: 3 (7); A: 4 (6); Ph: 7 (3). PoE: 1.45

Marcel Marceau (1923-2007), French mime artistS: 3; P: 4 (4); M: 3 (7); A: 6 (2); Ph: 3 (7). PoE: 1.0

Anita Roddick (1942-2007), British founder of The Body ShopS: 2; P: 6 (6); M: 2 (4); A: 6 (2); Ph: 7 (3). PoE: 0.9


Help is needed – and offeredIt will soon become clear that without help men have but little time to rectify the problems,ecological, political and economic which cause chaos, danger and heartache to the majorityof Earth’s people. It is a situation unique in Earth’s history. Much depends on men realizingthat they have, as custodians, the responsibility to tend carefully the well-being of the planetand all its kingdoms, and to pass on a vibrant, healthy planetary home to future generations.So unhealthy has the planet become from man’s predatory action and cavalier neglect, that,were it human, grave doubts of its recovery would be in order. The home of man and thelower kingdoms must be nursed back to health to fulfil its role in the evolving Plan.

Chaos reigns, likewise, in the political sphere. The nations are led by groups dedicated tothe past, unable to see that their methods apply no longer to the needs of today and tomorrow.Blindfolded and arrogant, they strut the stage of life like out-of-date actors, unsure of theirdirection or their lines. The door marked EXIT looms large for these destructive usurpers ofpower.

Saddest

The economic and social spheres are the saddest of all. While the world’s wealth flows intofewer and fewer hands, countless millions beg for the minimum to survive. Millions are tooweak to beg, and die, forlorn, before they have tasted life. What can men do to rectify thesesad and dangerous conditions? To whom can they turn for help in their agony?

There is but one source of help for men in their extreme need. That help is theirs for theasking. We, your Elder Brothers, seek only your welfare and happiness, and are ready to aidyou and to point the way to a better future for all.

We see all men as One, brothers and sisters of one great family. Men need, likewise, tobanish from their hearts the sense of separation, and to rediscover the reality of brotherhoodwhich lies at the heart of the human condition. Men, all men, are potential Gods and needsmust create the conditions in which they all can flourish. We will help you to do this, gladly,when you take the first small step in that direction. That first step is not difficult nor fraughtwith risk. You have nothing to lose and your divinity to gain: that first step is called Sharing.

The Master —, through Benjamin Creme, Share International, September 2006

Documents

The Earth in travail From consumers - Share Internationalshare-international.org/magazine/s2609.pdf · The Earth in travail by the Master ... hurt and so restore to health his ailing