Friday, July 17, 2009

Natalya Estemirova, Fallen Hero

Natalya Esemirova, human rights advocate

By any human measure, Natalya Estemirova is a hero. A 50 year old single mother, she was kidnapped from a street in Grozny Chechnya by four men, bundled into a car, and shot four times in the head, her body later dumped near the capital city of Ingushetia.

There seems to be no end to the idiots who believe that killing advocates for human rights, justice and compassion does anything other than make their advocacy stronger and more determined. Instead of stifling human rights advocacy, they strengthen it.

But that's a lesson that abusive people and powers never seem to learn. They are like the person who becomes enraged because the elm tree refuses to give him pears, so he cuts the elm tree down. And thousands of tiny seeds begin to sprout and create a forest.

The best response to these idiots is this: Wherever you live, stand for human rights, compassion and justice. In the end, nonviolence and compassion win. Violence, for all its horror, has no staying power.

Celebrate Natalya Estemirova’s life by the way you live yours.

All for this post,

Toasty

No comments: