I have worked for several years in Social Services in New York City, a year in Kenya, Africa, and have visited Europe and South America, too.  I have also studied the martial arts, like Kung fu and Jiu-Jitsu. In all this activity, I have become interested in the United Nations, since also my father worked there!

It has been interesting for me to study how such a place, which promotes fairness, originally came from the United States, and before that from most of all its religious origins.  The message of that religion was very much like "Love fairness, honesty, and integrity" "Love your neighbor as yourself," and "Love God," and even, "Love your enemy."  As Universities also came to show the best in these ideas, then so did the United Nations with its programs for peace and international learning and training.  The United Nations Environmental Program even has an Interfaith Partnership for the Environment, open to any religion to work on valuing the natural environment.

I worked for several years with people who used drugs, and their children became affected.  I had studied biology and anthropology and perceived how these people struggled.  Looking at history, I understood that their communities and families had been treated badly by a rich society for many years.  Nevertheless, I learned about how some people were able to succeed and learn enough to begin to publicize their concerns.  In the U.S., Martin Luther King is famous for his Montgomery Bus Boycott and his March on Washington in the 1950's and 1960's.  Years earlier, A. Philip Randolph had helped to organize the Black Train Porters.  Even earlier, Harriet Tubman had helped runaway slaves, and Frederick Douglass had spoken for the mistreated slaves once he had escaped to freedom himself.

There are many stories of various kinds, from the efforts of employee laborers to simply be treated fairly at work, and women to be treated equally in the law.  I have since also turned to study my own family background in Brazil in Latin America.  There I have found that the history of organizing employee-laborers has a history into the 19th Century, as does the founding of Cooperatives.  Employee-owned and managed cooperative partnerships are businesses where the workers are the ones to manage their business.  They began in Rochdale, England in 1844, and now are worldwide with a group of their own, the International Cooperative Alliance, that is based in Geneva, Switzerland.  In Brazil, there was for some time a strong military presence in the government, which did not respect human rights.  A combination of efforts in the 1970's by religious groups the Pastoral Commission of the Earth and the labor unions like CUT lead a few years later to the founding in the countryside of the Brazlian Landless Movement, MST, by people like Joao Pedro Stedile.  They have been able to help many struggling people in Brazil, a place like most of the world where Big Corporations and their political allies many times are not focussed on helping people to create work and live fairly with others and the planet.  A film has been made about them, called "Strong Root."  It shows people standing up for their rights, and taking action to start businesses for themselves and working together.  Now they are part of the movement of Solidarity Economics and the World Social Forum.   

Movies have been able to communicate about many good efforts that people are making.  People like Michael Moore and Al Gore have made wonderful movies, and also written excellent books to tell the stories of all of these people working to create human rights around the world.  Another excellent film is called "the Take" about Argentina, where employee-workers found their factories being closed.  Instead of giving up, they went back into the factories, and then spoke up for themselves in the courts.  Now they have created self-managed cooperative factories for themselves and their communities.   Here in New York where I live and go to school, there are several Food Cooperatives, food stores owned by their members.  I go there once a month to work a few hours, and when I shop, I can buy organic, fair trade foods, and other green products, for a 20% discount.  I also can show movies like those by Michael Moore, Al Gore, and the Take.  I make friends there, and learn many things from the movies and the people that come there.  I am also studying at New York University about Sustainable Development.  As I learn about starting small businesses owned by their employees, I can tell more and more people about them.  There are already dozens and dozens of food cooperatives across the United States.  There are hundreds and hundreds of other types of cooperatives here and around the world, and probably some in your country, too.  Groups like the International Cooperative Alliance are civil society organizations, or non-governmental organizations, like FOWPAL, and they are making many efforts also to promote human rights, like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. 

Two summers ago, I traveled across Europe to visit NGO's from Geneva to Berlin and London.  I saw some of the great monuments and museums of history, like a Statue of John Rousseau in Geneva and their Natural History Museum there.  I visited the International Cooperative Alliance, the International Labor Organization, World Wildlife Fund, the Friends of the Earth, and several others.  I met many interesting people, made many friends, learned about many good efforts people are making, and shared my work and ideas.  I had some very good food and drink, for example some very good vegetarian food in Amsterdam, the Netherlands at a restaurant called Green Planet.  While traveling I also met a couple going bicycle riding in Brussels, Belgium.  By the end of the trip, you might imagine, I also got very tired! 

Afterwards I was able to go to Brazil to teach English for several weeks in a small village.  There, I have worked with my fiancee to start. Nevertheless, it was a fun and rewarding trip, and I hope you can make a trip yourself someday, either around your area or around the world.  I have not yet traveled to Taiwan, China, Japan, India, or other parts of Asia.  Some day I hope to.  Maybe I will meet you!  In any event, with FOWPAL doing much good work through its founder Dr. Hong and its members, I have many reasons to think that one day many more good things can happen.