Ten Thousand Things
Multicultural Webfinds

"Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.

Largest Global Rally Ever – 38.8 Million People Stand Against Poverty

This UN sponsored transnational simultaneous mass rally seeking to raise awareness of the degradation, suffering, and needless deaths that accompany institutionalized poverty, topped The Guinness Book of World Records for the largest rally in world history.
The photograph of participants holding raised clasped hands in solidarity outside the UN Building in Bangkok at Common Dreams is powerful and moving.

In Japan 27,000 people stood up in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, creating a human sign by holding up flashlights under umbrellas.

While there's much richness in traditional cultures, any humanitarian would argue that caste, class, and gender-based discrimination and systemic forms of poverty are not among invaluable traditional legacies worth passing down to future generations. How long will it take to end historically traditional forms of economic-based discrimination, abuse, and prejudice – such as against the Dalits throughout South Asia. After seeing four-year-old children working in farm fields in Sri Lanka during a trip with Oxfam, movie star Scarlett Johansson began using her celebrity to bring a higher profile to the situation of Dalit people.


OCTOBER 18, 2007: Millions Stand Against Poverty in 24-Hour Global Rally
< http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/154316/1/ >
by Haider Rizvi
OneWorld.net

"Anti-poverty activists Wednesday organized thousands of meetings and demonstrations across the world to highlight the plight of the downtrodden and the poor.

"Organizers said 38.8 million people joined the international anti-poverty campaign during the 24-hour period, setting a new Guinness World Record for participation in mass rallies against poverty.

"People participated in more than 6,000 rallies in 110 countries in support of the campaign called "Stand Up and Speak Out." This year, the event coincided with the 20th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty...

"'Every day 50,000 people die needlessly as a result of extreme poverty,' said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement, noting that the gap between rich and poor is getting wider...

"UN experts on development say, worldwide, almost 1 billion people are still living on less than a dollar a day and some 72 million children are not in school.

"'By standing up last year, millions around the world demonstrated their frustration with the lack of real progress in poverty eradication," said Salil Shetty of the United Nations Millennium Campaign before the event. "This year, millions more are joining this growing global movement of people who refuse to stay silent in the face of poverty or broken promises to end it...'

"In Bangladesh an umbrella movement of youth groups mobilized 10,000 young people to block a busy crossroads with a human chain, and in India, a local organization planned a march of 20,000 Dalits (also known as "untouchables"), focusing on land rights and the achievement of the MDGs for Dalits in the State of Madhya Pradesh.

"Similar events also took place all over Europe and North and South America. In Germany the Euro 2008 Qualifier soccer game against the Czech Republic saw fans starting the match with a massive "Stand Up" moment. In The Hague the national anti-poverty campaign displayed 200 life-size avatars representing members of the public from across The Netherlands.

"In London trade union representatives, students, and the UN Deputy Secretary-General used a white band -- the symbol of the global anti-poverty campaign – to call for renewed commitments on more and better aid, debt cancellation, trade justice, gender equality and public accountability...

"During the campaign, many activists highlighted the link between gender inequalities and poverty because women constitute the majority of the world's poor, largely as a result of their unequal opportunities and access to resources, discriminatory laws, and unequal distribution of household resources."

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