About 100 participants attended the June 14 seminar in Hilden, Germany, entitled: ”The Original Human Nature Is in Each of Us”, in the Hotel am Stadtpark, some traveling from as far away as Bonn, Cologne, Frankfurt, and even the Netherlands. Herbert Beyer moderated the eight-hour program, which showed no signs of being long-winded or boring.
The positive atmosphere was greatly due to the many musical intervals ranging from compositions by Chopin (by Viola Hara) to Pleyel (by Johann Piepenburg and Takanari Wakayama). A special musical presentation was also made by Mr. Mazulumi and his wife Mrs. Schivitz, who presented pieces on the piano and psaltry from Chile and Persia. They were both nominated as Ambassadors for Peace and presented afterwards with their certificates.
Petra Heuwind opened the meeting with a short greeting representing the Ambassadors for Peace in Duesseldorf. Sergio Brina then introduced the UPF movement with his lecture: “Five Principles for Peace.” The strength of the UPF, he claimed, was in the interreligious dialogue, international cooperation, clear understanding of the great social importance of the family, and the importance living according to ethical principles, which are an essential part of the original human nature.
Homo Amans as a further development from Homo Sapiens
Francesco Conidi, a lecturer at Cologne University, spoke about the history of human development, with all its ups and downs. Human nature is manifested in relationships and behavior. Humans are the only living beings on this planet that have constantly pursued a vision of freedom, equality and justice. The desire for social justice and mutual happiness can be seen as a red line drawn through the whole of human history.
In the second part of the 20th century alone, we witnessed great achievements such as the overcoming of the apartheid system in South Africa (1993) and the removal of the German Wall (1989), next to terrible social disasters such as the “Killing Fields” of Cambodia under Pol Pot (1975-79), the bloody conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda (1994), and the massacre of defenseless civilians in Srebrenica (1995), just to mention a few examples. The question that remains to be answered is why we still witness war and bloodshed among people who carry in their hearts such a deep desire for a peaceful world? Furthermore, how can we reconcile this with the principles of logic, of which Homo Sapiens is so proud? According to the Bible, humankind is supposed to be the crowning achievement of the creation. It appears that we still need to grow to take up this position.
Beginning with Homo Habilis the “skilled man,” who made tools out of wood and stones, then Homo Erectus, who mastered the use of fire and big game hunting, followed by Homo Sapiens, the man of reason or rational thought, we see that a further development remains before us. According to Conidi, this will be Homo Amans, a being with highly developed emotional intelligence and social skills and distinctive qualities of heart. When compassion and not just calculated reason governs human behavior, we see the emergence of a peaceful world.
News from Burma
Burmese Ambassador for Peace and Buddhist monk Ashin Sopaka reported about his work in his homeland. Despite skeptical observation by the government, and all the obstacles they placed in his path, Sopaka and his fellow monks continued to run schools, which enabled underprivileged people to receive a basic primary school education. This is run under the name of a public library, since any kind of private school is forbidden, although they can freely develop in Thailand, Mozambique, or Tanzania. In Thailand alone there are 2 million Burmese refugees living near the common national boundary. Their children lack access to a state school education, since they have been classed as illegal.
Sopaka presented further projects, such as the support for whole groups of people who literally live on and from the rubbish heaps of the large cities. They are able to earn a meager existence from sorting the rubbish. But this is not usually enough to provide for one decent meal a day. The victims of the storm flood, “Nargis,” were also cared for by the monks. Sopaka concluded his presentation with an appeal to the UN and other international organizations to intervene early enough whenever there are signs of human catastrophes.
Projects in Germany and Africa
Ambassador for Peace Abirami Paramanantham presented her project with youth. She works in schools to establish work groups to help social integration and establish peace. ”The original human desire to see others as brothers and sisters sits deep within each one of us,” she said. “Education and upbringing should convey how to regard oneself and those in our immediate surroundings as part of a world family.“
Dr. Sam Essiamah has been supervising a project in Ghana since 1995, which he himself initiated: planting trees on school playgrounds. According to Essiamah trees are of great importance, since whereever there is a lack of classrooms, the trees supply the necessary shade under which the lessons can be held (something that Essiamah has done many times).
A new project has also been started to encourage reforestation: whoever plants a tree receives a free solar light. Essiamah explained that civilization began with the felling of the first tree, and will end when the last tree is cut down.
Dr. Halil Al Fahad spoke about a related topic: renewable energy. Al Fahad is working with an institute based in Goettingen, called IFEED (International Research Centre for Renewable Energy in Germany). He mentioned the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the air. “Unless we are able to constantly reduce the level of carbon dioxide in proportion to its increased production, we will undoubtedly be heading for a major environmental disaster.” The melting of the ice caps and glaciers and the increase in floods in Africa, Asia Minor, and America are an expression of environmental strain. Al Fahad is engaged in promoting renewable energy which does not produce carbon dioxide.
Fritz Piepenburg, vice-president of UPF in Germany, congratulated the local members on the success of their seminar. The UPF, according to Piepenburg, was founded on September 12, 2005 in New York at the time of the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations. Here in Germany the UPF was founded in May 2007, on the foundation of the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace. “The members are the sort of people who are convinced of the feasibility of a peaceful world,” said Piepenburg. “We are not pessimists or nihilists. The world urgently needs a set of universal common values, transcending religious or national barriers. For this reason the UPF founded the Global Peace Council. However, even on the national or communal level there is a need to establish such peace councils to deal with local challenges.”
At the end of the seminar there were five further nominations of Ambassadors for Peace, something that has now become a regular feature of the UPF seminars and meetings.