8 Great Heroes of Human Rights

In 539 BC, the Cyrus the Great armies conquered the city of Babylon. But rather than rape and looting, Cyrus released slaves, declared freedom of religion and established racial equality. These decrees and others were recorded in cuneiforms on a cooked cage cylinder, now known as Cyrus cylinder, generally considered as the first world human rights charter.

During the following millennials, many wanted to overcome, and some like Cyrus the Great, endeavored against tyranny in the name of human rights. It is difficult to say who wins today. A look at any recent AMNESTY International report reveals dark statistics, but history is full of stories of great people who have changed the world by defending human and civil rights. Although they cannot put on the capes, the following public figures are only some of the superheroes in history-the people who have devoted themselves to the fight for justice.

1. Chef Joseph (1840–1904)

Son of a chief of nose pierced during the expansion to the west of the United States, Joseph was born at a time of many disputes on land treaties, which led to years of injustice and attacks by the American army. In 1871, Joseph became chief and worked hard to prevent his tribe from retalling against the violence inflicted on them. At one point, chief Joseph negotiated an agreement with the federal government, allowing his tribe to stay on his land. As was too often the case in such situations, the government reversed the agreement three years later and threatened to attack if the tribe did not move in a reserve.

In 1879, chief Joseph met President Rutherford B. Hayes and pleaded on behalf of his tribe. For a quarter of a century, chief Joseph was a great chief of the tribe and an eloquent public defender, who is unleashed against the injustices and unconstitutional policies of the United States towards his people. He has traveled through the country to defend on behalf of the Amerindians, fighting peacefully for equality and justice, until the end of his life.

2. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948)

In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared the day of the birth of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, on October 2, as an International Day of Non-Violence, and it is not surprising. Develop and spread the art of non -violent civil disobedience and apply it on a large scale, Gandhi – which was commonly called Mahatma Gandhi – brilliantly enabled India and inspired by non -violence, civil rights and freedom in the whole world.

3. Oskar Schindler (1908–1974)

German and ethnic Catholic, Oskar Schindler was a ruthless industrialist and member of the Nazi party. However, despite the disturbing biography, Schindler risked everything to save more than 1,000 Jews from the expulsion in Auschwitz during the Second World War.

Why did he help? In an interview of 1964, he said: “The persecution of the Jews of the General Government on Polish territory has gradually worsened in its cruelty. choice.”

Schindler died in Germany, broke out and practically unknown in 1974. Many people he helped and their descendants financed the transfer of his body for burial to Israel, his last wish. In 1993, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council presented the Museum’s Souvenir Medal posthumously in Schindler.

4. Rosa Parks (1913-2005)

Rosa Louise Parks is considered the mother of modern civil rights in America. She is famous for refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white man in Alabama in 1955, which led to his arrest. The demonstrations in the form of sit-ins and dishes began in Montgomery and quickly spread across the state, the south and the country. His official biography stipulates: “His silent courageous act changed America, his vision of blacks and redirected the course of history.”

Parks was an activist even before the bus incident. In the 1930s, she fought to release the “Scottsboro Boys”, a group of nine black young men who are wrongly accused of having raped two white women on a train near Scottsboro, in Alabama. Parks and her husband, Raymond Parks, also worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Later, she moved to Detroit and became Diaconesse in the African methodist episcopal church. Parks obtained more than 43 honorary doctoral diplomas and, in 1996, President William Clinton awarded him the medal of freedom.

5. Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

Nelson Mandela, a South African revolutionary Anti-Apartheid, inspired an international campaign for his release from prison where he was serving life accusations and conspiracy to overthrow the government. After 27 years in prison, Mandela was released in 1990; Three years later, he received the Nobel Peace Prize with Klerk FW for their work to cancel the racist policies of apartheid from South Africa. In 1994, Mandela was inaugurated as the first black president in South Africa, a position he held until 1999. Among other distinctions, he was variously called “the father of the nation”, “the founding father of democracy” and “the national Liberator, the Savior, his Washington and Lincoln were transformed into one.”

6. Jimmy Carter (1924–)

As 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter left office in 1980 with a low approval rating of 34%. He is more than compensated in the decades that followed. In 1982, he and his wife Rosalynn created the Carter Center in Atlanta, which was guided by “a fundamental commitment to human rights and the attenuation of human suffering; He seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, improve freedom and democracy and improve health, “said the press release.

The non -profit center has a remarkable list of achievements, in particular the observation of 94 elections in 37 countries to encourage democracy; Peace work in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Sudan, Uganda, the Korean peninsula, Haiti, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Middle East; Great plea for people with mental illnesses; And strengthen international human rights standards and the votes of individuals defending these rights in their communities around the world, among other important works.

In 2002, Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work “to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, advance democracy and human rights and promote economic and social development” by the Carter center.

7. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

American clergy, activist and chief of the African-American civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. is best known to advance civil rights using non-violent civil disobedience. King led the first non-violent African-American demonstration with the boycott of the buses, which began in 1955 and was the start of the end of the segregation of the buses. During the 11 years between 1957 and 1968, King traveled more than 6 million miles and spoke more than 2,500 times, appearing wherever there was an injustice, a protest and an action – while taking five pounds and many tests into account. At 35, King was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He was murdered four years later in 1968.

8. 14th Dalai Lama (1935–)

The Buddhist monk and Tibetan spiritual leader, Tenzin Gyatso – The 14th Dalai Lama – awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non -violent struggle for the Liberation of Tibet. He has always recommended non-violence policies, even in the face of extreme assault. He also became the first winner of the Nobel Prize award for his concern for global environmental problems.

Man is occupied in his pursuit of peace. The Dalai Lama received more than 150 awards, honorary doctorates and awards recognizing its message of peace, non-violence, interreligious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion. He is also the author or co-author of more than 110 pounds and has more than 7 million followers on Twitter.