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FIRST, A WEEK-OLD NEWS REPORT...

.MAY 16.

‘New Seed’ presented 

at ‘Symphony of Prayers’

MAKATI CITY, May 16  (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The two-week-old "New Seed" Declaration for Active Defense of the Environment was presented at the 'Symphony of Prayers for Peace' held by the United Religions Initiative-Southeast Asia and the Peacemakers Circle this morning at the Riverbanks Park in Marikina City.

A hundred or so participants from various faith traditions gathered at the Riverbanks Park to hold together World Peace Prayer Ceremony and to present their respective prayers for peace. They were representatives of various groups religions and faith traditions, such as Neo-babaylanism, Brahma Kumaris, Christian, earth-based spirituality, Hindu, Tibetan, Buddhist, Hare Krishna, Sikh, Bahai, and Shumei. They all joined together in unison for the line-by-line recitation of the English version of "Bagong Binhi" Declaration which was originally written and recited in Tagalog-based Filipino.  

Meanwhile, the "New Seed" consciousness campaign initiator and overall coordinator, Ed Aurelio C. Reyes, also the Secretary-General of the World Environment Day-Philippines (WED-Phils.) Network, received via email this morning the Spanish version of the text, as translated by volunteer Bro. Oscar Segura, a Mexican seminarian of the Xaverian Missionaries, and facilitated by Orlando Tiu de Guzman of the Peacemakers' and URI-SEA secretariat. Shortly before midnight, Reyes received a translation in Swahili from his Congolese friend Aime Mitengezo. Swahili is one of the four major languages of the Congo Democratic Republic.

These translations have brought to seven the number of existing versions of this document: Tagalog-based Filipino (original), Pampango and Cebuano, among Philippine languages; plus English, French, Spanish, and Swahili.

With the Spanish translation sent in, the initial translation phase of the "Bagong Binhi" consciousness campaign for the active defense of the environment has definitely attained momentum some three weeks before World Environment Day 2010, when this declaration will be considered by the WED-Phils. Annual Assembly in Quezon City for translation, promotion and adoption in the Philippines and overseas. It's widespread sowing and germination is starting a new historical effort in deeply-rooted active defense of the environment directly by its real stakeholders.

...Followed by this marquee display on the opening window of our website: 

.MAY 16.

FLASH!!!    FLASH!!!   FLASH!!!    GERMAN Translation of "NEW SEED" by Helen Trautvetter was sent in last Saturday by Deputy Project Coordinator Orlando Tiu de Guzman. Original and translations now total EIGHT. We still await more translations.

BACKGROUND:

SOWN BY AETAS IN A SEEDS-PRODUCING

DEMO-FARM

.MAY 2.

“Bagong Binhi” was first proclaimed in unison in Castillejos, Zambales, in the Sunday morning mass of May 2, 2010, by about 80 leaders and members, mostly belonging to the Aeta indigenous groups, of people’s organizations among organic farmers in that part of Zambales. The line-by-line chorused recitation was led by Ed Aurelio C. Reyes of WED-Phils Network, and Conrado Esemple, of the Castillejos-based team of the Task Force for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC).

This and its translations will be circulated in the widest manner possible to seek discussions and adoptions by in­dividuals, families, communities and org­anizations. WED-Phils plans to wage a campaign for this “new seed” to be sown and to germinate in various areas within and outside the Philippines before June 5, World Environment Day. On that day, the WED-Phils Annual Assembly will consider a resolution on it. That assembly will be held by this network the whole afternoon of June 5 at the Environmental Studies Institute of Miriam College in Quezon City.

The drive for translations has been gaining momentum, with these items which are still open for comments for improvement as translations. Starting June 5, advocates and supporters of this consciousness campaign shall sign their names as individual, family, community, and organizational co-authors of this “New Seed.” We will ask for many people’s help on these tasks, Reyes said.

APPEAL:

LET THIS SPREAD, GERMINATE!

As a collective declaration, the "New Seed" proclaims the act of deciding something very important. Due to its importance, such a decision just had to be ensured as a free, clear, and firm decision. No force exerted in any form to violate anyone's right to free-will, no confusions taken advantage of, no conditionality or equivocation. A firm decision as a resolute decision would brook no excuses for non-implementation. It is a solemn collective pledge to ourselves.

It is a decision born of an urgent necessity for our own lives and of the planet's.  The Earth's natural environment, upon which our health and survival clearly depends has to be defended effectively against human deeds commanded and abetted by profit-making motives that refuse to respect life. And it has been proven, like during the entire process and final maneuvers that led to last December's Copenhagen Summit that such necessary defense of the environment cannot be ensured to be done at all, much less sustained, unless entire families and communities of the citizens of the various countries undertake to take such defense into their own hands, taking active defense of the environment as a matter of life and death, and exercising their own personal self-defense prerogatives.

Let  the spirit and logic of this New Seed spread and germinate to enable us to save our living environment and ourselves.