May 20, 7:00p.m.: Nonviolence Resistance and the Current Crisis in Mexico, with Pietro Ameglio, at the Resource Center for Nonviolence, 515 Broadway, Santa Cruz. Dessert and coffee will be served starting at 7:00p.m.; Presentation 7:30p.m. For more info, contact Anita Heckman at (831) 423-1626×101.
Who is Pietro Ameglio? Pietro Ameglio of Mexico has worked for more than two decades promoting active nonviolence in Latin America. A university lecturer, popular educator and author of a book on Gandhian nonviolence, Pietro is a key figure in an emerging nonviolence movement in Mexico, offering new hope against uncontrolled drug violence and increasing militarization. He was one of the founders of the Peace and Justice Service (SERPAJ) in Mexico. SERPAJ is a Latin American organization working in 10 countries to promote human rights, social justice and nonviolent culture and struggle. Pietro founded the group Serpaj Morelos, which was honored with the Pfeffer International Peace Prize in 2008. Pietro has a deep, faith-based commitment to social justice and a deep grasp of Gandhian nonviolence.
Over the past four years, the drug violence in Mexico has claimed the lives of close to 40,000 people. In January 2011, Pietro played a key role in a public demonstration and fast in Juarez, the most violent city in Mexico. He wrote:
“We are in the midst of a tragic war not of our making – the Mexican government declared war against organized crime, and we know that violence generates violence. The saying of Gandhi is more than ever applicable here: ‘An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.'”
Several groups are coordinating events throughout the Bay Area to raise public awareness and support for nonviolence efforts in Mexico. Pietro’s engagements currently include:
May 14, 7 p.m.: IF Latin America Dinner, a fund raising event for Pietro’s work. 160 Sunflower Lane, Watsonville. For reservations or more information, email if.officemgr(at)gmail.com
May 16, 6 pm: Presentation at Monterey Institute for International Studies. For information please contact Pushpa Iyer at (831) 647-7104 or pushpa.iyer(at)miis.edu
May 17 and 18: Presentations in San Francisco (with Global Exchange and Fellowship of Reconciliation) and East Bay (with Fellowship of Reconciliation and Metta Center for Nonviolence) : venues and times TBA. For more information contact John Lindsay-Poland at johnpl(at)forusa.org
May 19, 7 pm: Short Brown Beret Meeting, 8 pm presentation by Pietro: Presentation at Watsonville Brown Berets Bike Shack. Contact Sandino Gomez at sandinista(at)freakreadio.org
May 20, 7 pm: Presentation at the Resource Center for Nonviolence, 515 Broadway, Santa Cruz. Dessert and coffee will be served. Contact Anita Heckman at (831) 423-1626.
The Bay Area groups coordinating Pietro Ameglio’s events include IF and the Resource Center for Nonviolence in Santa Cruz; Fellowship of Reconciliation and Global Exchange in San Francisco; and the Metta Center for Nonviolence