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.
 Have
respect for life!
In the great
ancient religious and ethical traditions of humankind, we find
the directive: You shall not kill! Or in positive terms: Have
respect for life!
Let us reflect
anew on the consequences of this ancient directive:
•
All
people have a right to life, safety and the free development of
personality in so far as they do not injure the rights of others.
•
No
one has the right physically or psychically to torture, injure,
much less kill, any other human being.
•
And
no people, no state, no race, no religion has the right to hate,
to discriminate against, to ’cleanse‘, to exile, much
less to liquidate a ’foreign‘ minority which is different.
Let no one
be deceived:
There is no survival for humanity without global peace!
Young people must learn at home and in school that violence may
not be a means of settling differences with others.
Only thus can a culture of non-violence be created.
From
the ‘Declaration Toward a Global Ethic’
of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago 1993.
Media
quotes
Sharp rise
in attacks on hospital staff. Shocking figures show that there
has been a 217 % average increase.
Glasgow Herald
Concern over
huge rise in classroom violence. Attacks on teachers rose by more
than 50 per cent last year.
Scotsman
Apocalypse
soon for half of wildlife. Global warming will destroy almost
a third of plant and animal habitats by the end of this century.
Glasgow Herald
Violence
at home is worst peril for women. Up to 5.7 million incidents
of domestic violence occur every year.
Times
The railway
children who dice with death. Vandalism and trespass are biggest
threat to rail safety.
Guardian
Grim reality
of e-stalking. Internet intimidation is coming to a home near
you.
Glasgow Herald
Violence
rising at football grounds. Affray, missile throwing and violent
disorder were all up.
Daily Telegraph
Jailed for
life at 12. A 12-year-old boy has been given life for beating
a girl of 6 to death.
Daily Mirror
Fuelling
Africa’s Wars. War is spreading from Sierra Leone to Ghana.
Traders, profiting in arms, diamonds and oil, help to keep West
African wars going.
Economist
Tide of cruelty
sweeps through our care homes. They should be safe havens, but
one in ten hide stories of violence.
Observer
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