United Nations - Human rights day

“Celebrate Human Rights Day”

Patrick Mangoma

Patric Mangoma is a very good friend of mine and a close workmate, we work together at Tata Zambia. Though we are in different departments, we share alot of things and he is one in a million. This is what he had to say about the Human Rights day Celebration:

The 10^th December marks the day when we join the rest of humanity in celebrating the Human Rights day which were enshrined in the United Nations charter in the year 1948 with the aim of promoting and protecting the dignity of human life. Each year we continue to do so with deeper reflection, evaluating ourselves in our various communities and organizations.

This day is an invitation for all of us to go into the deep recess of our hearts and ask the following questions:

(a)        Do I and my neighbor have freedom and which freedom?
(b)        Is the environment conducive to allow life to be born, blossom and have 
             integral human development?
(c)         Is my current way of relating; promoting the dignity of human life?
(d)        Do I have the right to be heard or rather do we listen to each other?
(e)        Do we easily communicate?

These and many other questions may help us to reflect better if we put this in the context of families, local communities, work places, business places, Governments, war zones and in areas were competition over resources is the stiffest.

May I remind you that while you and I maybe straining our minds trying to have new solutions to the Human Rights Problems, amid ourselves are a few culprits whose insatiable quest for power and domination has not failed to leave others injured.

As a church we are challenged to live exemplary lives to the extent that others look up to us for moral guidance. It is our role in the society to remind everyone that any human life in its every status and form deserves dignity (perhaps this is a challenge to mothers who exercise abortion and leaders who mistreat people who are in desperate situations)

As we celebrate this day, lets do it with people who have being released from the shackles of social and political oppression. With people who are free at last.

However let’s not relent in our efforts to fight for justice for those who are not yet free. And I believe the best way of remembering those who are oppressed is to try and transform those who oppress them.

 May the God who created man and put everything under his domain awaken man’s mind to be responsible for the creation of his master. Amen