Dear Fellow Peace Worker:
We met at the Peace Summit in Costa Rica recently and I mentioned to you our project to declare a Demilitarization Day for Latin America.
Since then, The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom of Costa Rica, Heredia Chapter, met and decided on December 1, 2010 as the DIA PRO DESMILITARIZACION DE AMERICA LATINA, December 1 being the day that Costa Rica decided to abolish its army in 1948.
As you know, we will need your help to make this a reality. As you also know, Latin America has increased its budget for military build-up in the last couple of years by
25%. With the increasing number of poor and starving men, women and children in our countries, it seems unthinkable that governments would assign so much money for arms. Who are we afraid of? What neighbor country is going to attack us?
Of course, we also know that the arms producing countries push arms sales on developing countries. Sometimes, aid is contingent upon these purchases. Therefore, it is our intention to raise consciousness amongst the population and within the governments that Latin America needs to eliminate its poverty first, and not waste its money on arms it does not need. Just imagine what $50,000 million spent on arms would have meant in food and shelter for the poor of Latin America!
Are you willing to help us? Can you help us spread the word in your country? How many and which organizations in your country can you contact to get them on the bandwagon?
PLEASE, let me hear from you at estilita8@gmail.com Saludos from peace-loving Costa Rica.
Estilita Grimaldo and the women of...
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom of Costa Rica,
Heredia Chapter.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
HISTORY AND MISSION OF WILPF
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom began in 1915 when l200 women from twelve countries (many of them professionals and involved in the suffrage movement) met in The Hague, Netherlands. Their purpose in coming together was to discuss peace and freedom which was in stark contrast with the Great War being waged at that time in Europe. Initially, they visited the governments of the countries involved and vowed to continue their international efforts for peace, justice and human rights. Today this mission has grown to include disarmament, human rights and economic justice.
International Office: WILPF has its international office in Geneva staffed with a Secretary General and an International Board. There are more than a total of 50 sections of WILPF in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and the South Seas.
Tri -annual meetings with members from all the sections determine the general goals for WILPF, which guide the sections working within their own perimeters toward these goals. The organization is for women and men who support the ideals of WILPF independent of political or religious connections. The WILPF international web page is www.wilpf.int.ch .
Connection to the United Nations: WILPF has consultative status at the United Nations and has an office at the UN headquarters. The office sends out daily reports from the UN’s Permanent Disarmament Conference and is now on the agenda for NGO’s to present reports. In the Americas there are WILPF sections in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru and Chile. Susi Snyder is the International Secretary General.
The Costa Rican Section: WILPF is called the Liga Internacional de Mujeres Pro Paz y Libertad in Spanish or LIMPAL. The section was formed in 1981 during the time that civil wars were rampant in Central America. Over the years WILPF has continued to work on issues of peace and justice. There are two age-oriented groups in the San Jose area. One group is made up of young women and university students. This group works mainly with children and adolescents in marginal areas, on issues of conflict resolution and rights of children and youth. The more senior group works in several areas, particularly on issues of rights for women and migrants. In addition, all section members work with and support efforts for peace and human rights. Olga Carrillo is the president of the Costa Rica Section. The section office is located in the Friends Peace Center in San Jose.
The Heredia Group: Our bilingual group includes women and men from many countries. We concentrate on disarmament issues at national and international levels, and on Costa Rican children. We have an annual campaign against toys of violence, and have published a coloring book depicting ways of building a peace culture. These books are distributed to schools and organizations working with children.
In March 2009 we joined the Coalition Against Uranium Weapons and participated in the international conference held in Costa Rica. The conference mission was to promote a treaty to prohibit this type of weapons. We support and work for efforts to reduce arms and military spending and to spread a peace culture. Our E-mail address is peacewomen@gmail.com .
International Office: WILPF has its international office in Geneva staffed with a Secretary General and an International Board. There are more than a total of 50 sections of WILPF in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and the South Seas.
Tri -annual meetings with members from all the sections determine the general goals for WILPF, which guide the sections working within their own perimeters toward these goals. The organization is for women and men who support the ideals of WILPF independent of political or religious connections. The WILPF international web page is www.wilpf.int.ch .
Connection to the United Nations: WILPF has consultative status at the United Nations and has an office at the UN headquarters. The office sends out daily reports from the UN’s Permanent Disarmament Conference and is now on the agenda for NGO’s to present reports. In the Americas there are WILPF sections in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru and Chile. Susi Snyder is the International Secretary General.
The Costa Rican Section: WILPF is called the Liga Internacional de Mujeres Pro Paz y Libertad in Spanish or LIMPAL. The section was formed in 1981 during the time that civil wars were rampant in Central America. Over the years WILPF has continued to work on issues of peace and justice. There are two age-oriented groups in the San Jose area. One group is made up of young women and university students. This group works mainly with children and adolescents in marginal areas, on issues of conflict resolution and rights of children and youth. The more senior group works in several areas, particularly on issues of rights for women and migrants. In addition, all section members work with and support efforts for peace and human rights. Olga Carrillo is the president of the Costa Rica Section. The section office is located in the Friends Peace Center in San Jose.
The Heredia Group: Our bilingual group includes women and men from many countries. We concentrate on disarmament issues at national and international levels, and on Costa Rican children. We have an annual campaign against toys of violence, and have published a coloring book depicting ways of building a peace culture. These books are distributed to schools and organizations working with children.
In March 2009 we joined the Coalition Against Uranium Weapons and participated in the international conference held in Costa Rica. The conference mission was to promote a treaty to prohibit this type of weapons. We support and work for efforts to reduce arms and military spending and to spread a peace culture. Our E-mail address is peacewomen@gmail.com .
Thanks from Gail Nystrom for WILPF Coloring Books
The Olive Branch of WILPF received a thank you note from Gail Nystrom responding to our gift of children’s coloring books for peace. Gail Nystrom founded the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation (CRHF) in 1997 and has guided the organization since its establishment. Based in the rural community of Santa Ana, Costa Rica CRHF works to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable populations in Costa Rica. Find out more about this organization at http://CRHF.org
Gail’s letter follows:
Dear Friends from WILPF,
On behalf of the children in the La Carpio School, I would like to thank you so much for the wonderful coloring books about Peace that you donated. We were able to go into the school and work with six groups of children with twenty volunteers for several hours in the morning. We used the time to talk about peace and nonviolence in the neighborhood and the home. We also gave each child a box of colored pencils that you had donated. We let the teachers and the director of the school know that you had donated these items.
I appreciate your concern for these children and look forward to working with you in the future.
Yours,
Gail Nystrom
Director Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation
Gail’s letter follows:
Dear Friends from WILPF,
On behalf of the children in the La Carpio School, I would like to thank you so much for the wonderful coloring books about Peace that you donated. We were able to go into the school and work with six groups of children with twenty volunteers for several hours in the morning. We used the time to talk about peace and nonviolence in the neighborhood and the home. We also gave each child a box of colored pencils that you had donated. We let the teachers and the director of the school know that you had donated these items.
I appreciate your concern for these children and look forward to working with you in the future.
Yours,
Gail Nystrom
Director Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation
Monday, August 10, 2009
WHY CAN’T WE FIND PEACE!
Peace can mean different things to different people. To some it can be a feeling or state of tranquility or quiet and harmony in personal relations; also freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions. Still others may view it as a state of security, or order within a community provided for by law or custom. Some see it as the opposite of war or freedom from civil disturbance. It may be considered as a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity; as well as a state or period of mutual concord between governments.
If someone asks me what I am looking for in life, my first thought or reply is always “inner peace”. I look at it as something personal. But can anyone find inner peace when much of what we hear and see in the media is all about war and discontent? Currently every time I hear the names Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, Korea and many others the color I see is red. This is the red of blood shed over hatred, greed and lust for power. It’s the red of anger I feel that there is no peace anywhere as long as these feelings exist between countries and people.
Why can't we get along? Would I find more peace if I stopped watching and listening to the news or if I moved to an isolated cabin in the mountains? The world has gotten too small and everyone is affected no matter where we reside. I have met people from all over the world and realize that we are basically the same. Yes, we have different backgrounds, color, status and religious beliefs, but we all bleed red. I am an American Jew living in Costa Rica (so sue me!) I have learned much from being here for the last two years. My friends are Tico, Canadian, French, British, Italian, American and are of many colors, faiths, ideologies and likes and dislikes. What we have in common is respect for each other. No one walks around with a chip on their shoulder for very long. It doesn’t get knocked off it gets rubbed off with a big hug. In order to get along with others we must find our inner peace through tolerance, understanding, sharing and forgiveness and turn it outward so that it rubs off on someone else. As a famous singer once said (God rest his soul) ”we are the world!”
Ellen Moltz Los Arcos, Joy Streck Cariari
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