Isaiah 66:3 -- He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man

November 3, 2006

My son Astottara-sata dasa, founded a non-profit organization called

Working Villages International, and he's working to set up a

self-sufficient village in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

http://workingvillages.org/luvungi_report.shtml

The idea is to set up a sustainable environmentally friendly village for

some of the thousands of war refugees. Naturally, one of the plans for

the village is to introduce ox power.

Last night, Asto was speaking to a Christian group in New Hampshire. At

the end of his presentation, one lady in the audience raised her hand

and commented, "You say that gasoline in Congo is now $6.00 per gallon,

and that people earn only $100 per year -- enough to buy about 18

gallons of gasoline per year. So you plan to teach people how to work

the oxen so that they won't need petroleum. But my question is this:

What if after training the oxen, the people decide to eat them."

Asto responded to the woman, "Well, you know in the Bible, in Isaiah

66.3 it says that 'He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man.'"

There's a very good reason why the Bible says that -- and in the current

African context, it's ten times as important. The fact of the matter is

that a living ox, who is well trained can provide a hundred times more

food to keep the villagers alive than a dead ox who is put on their

dinner plates for a few meals. If you kill the ox, you are actually

killing the people, because without his work, they will starve to death

-- and this is what is currently happening in Congo. They have no

trained oxen and they can't afford a tractor and gasoline, so they are

actually starving to death right now. So that logic will be very clear

to them."

Everyone in the room nodded their heads when this piece of wisdom was

pointed out to them.

your servant,

Hare Krsna dasi

November 21, 2006

Haribol Your son is doing the most glorious and exemplary service.

Thankyou a million times and dandevats a million times for raising such a

Krsna concious son who is engaged in the most beneficial work for all

humanity and for Srila Prabhupada.

your servant Labangalatika dasi

-

Noma Petroff <npetroff (AT) bowdoin (DOT) edu>

Cow (Protection and related issues) <Cow (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

Friday, November 03, 2006 8:05 AM

Isaiah 66:3 -- He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man

> My son Astottara-sata dasa, founded a non-profit organization called

> Working Villages International, and he's working to set up a

> self-sufficient village in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

>

> http://workingvillages.org/luvungi_report.shtml

>

> The idea is to set up a sustainable environmentally friendly village for

> some of the thousands of war refugees. Naturally, one of the plans for

> the village is to introduce ox power.

>

> Last night, Asto was speaking to a Christian group in New Hampshire. At

> the end of his presentation, one lady in the audience raised her hand

> and commented, "You say that gasoline in Congo is now $6.00 per gallon,

> and that people earn only $100 per year -- enough to buy about 18

> gallons of gasoline per year. So you plan to teach people how to work

> the oxen so that they won't need petroleum. But my question is this:

> What if after training the oxen, the people decide to eat them."

>

> Asto responded to the woman, "Well, you know in the Bible, in Isaiah

> 66.3 it says that 'He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man.'"

> There's a very good reason why the Bible says that -- and in the current

> African context, it's ten times as important. The fact of the matter is

> that a living ox, who is well trained can provide a hundred times more

> food to keep the villagers alive than a dead ox who is put on their

> dinner plates for a few meals. If you kill the ox, you are actually

> killing the people, because without his work, they will starve to death

> -- and this is what is currently happening in Congo. They have no

> trained oxen and they can't afford a tractor and gasoline, so they are

> actually starving to death right now. So that logic will be very clear

> to them."

>

> Everyone in the room nodded their heads when this piece of wisdom was

> pointed out to them.

>

> your servant,

>

> Hare Krsna dasi

>

> -----------------------

> To from this mailing list, send an email to:

> Cow-Owner (AT) pamho (DOT) net

November 22, 2006

Dear Labangalatika Prabhu,

Thank you for your generous and kind words. Right now my son is feeling a

little frustrated in his service. The elections in DR Congo are causing an

increased level of political chaos, both in the east in the Ruzizi Valley and

also in the west, in Kinshasa, the capital.

He originally planned to be in Congo right now, actually training oxen, but the

extreme political situation makes it too dangerous to travel there right now.

In fact, just yesterday a rebel faction set fire to the Supreme Court in the

capital city of Kinshasa. So he's feeling frustrated, and wondering what is

the best next step to take in serving his Sita-Rama deities and pushing on with

his project.

In spite of the War, he feels that the Ruzizi Valley is a very promising place

to work, partly because of the mild climate, with plenty of rainfall. But the

other thing is that the people there very much love their cows.

Imagine this: When he was working in Uganda, there was a constant fear of

poison snakes. One time he even found a cobra in the entry way to his room.

So he was a worrried about poison snakes when he started the project in Congo.

He asked the local chief, "What is the situation with poison snakes?"

The chief said, "There are no snakes of any kind."

Asto, "How can that be? This mountanous territory is exactly what snakes

like."

The chief, "Out of hunger, the people have killed all the snakes and eaten

them."

Asto, "But then you must have rats. If you have no snakes, you must have

rats."

The chief, "No, the people have eaten them as well."

And all the time that Asto was there, people walked freely wherever they wanted

with no fear of snakes -- quite unlike Uganda.

But my point is this. These people are meat eaters, and I would think they

probably also eat cows sometimes -- but in general, they prefer not to because

they value their cows. Even though they are actually starving to death, they

would eat a poisonous snake or a rat before eating their cows. Thus they still

have cows, even though all the snakes and rats are gone.

Anyway, to hear your comments gave Asto some much-needed encouragement,

especially when I told him it was from a devotee who has a long-time history of

cow protection in difficult circumstances. If anyone wants to pray for the

Lord to give him guidance on what steps to take next to push on his project, it

would be greatly appreciated.

Again, thank you so much for your kindness!

your servant,

Hare Krsna dasi

-

Rosalie Malik <labangalatika (AT) vsnl (DOT) net>

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 5:50 pm

Re: Isaiah 66:3 -- He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man

> Haribol Your son is doing the most glorious and exemplary

> service.Thankyou a million times and dandevats a million times

> for raising such a

> Krsna concious son who is engaged in the most beneficial work for all

> humanity and for Srila Prabhupada.

>

> your servant Labangalatika dasi

> -

> Noma Petroff <npetroff (AT) bowdoin (DOT) edu>

> Cow (Protection and related issues) <Cow (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

> Friday, November 03, 2006 8:05 AM

> Isaiah 66:3 -- He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man

>

> > My son Astottara-sata dasa, founded a non-profit organization called

> > Working Villages International, and he's working to set up a

> > self-sufficient village in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

> >

> > http://workingvillages.org/luvungi_report.shtml

> >

> > The idea is to set up a sustainable environmentally friendly

> village for

> > some of the thousands of war refugees. Naturally, one of the

> plans for

> > the village is to introduce ox power.

> >

> > Last night, Asto was speaking to a Christian group in New

> Hampshire. At

> > the end of his presentation, one lady in the audience raised her

> hand> and commented, "You say that gasoline in Congo is now $6.00

> per gallon,

> > and that people earn only $100 per year -- enough to buy about 18

> > gallons of gasoline per year. So you plan to teach people how

> to work

> > the oxen so that they won't need petroleum. But my question is

> this:> What if after training the oxen, the people decide to eat

> them.">

> > Asto responded to the woman, "Well, you know in the Bible, in Isaiah

> > 66.3 it says that 'He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man.'"

> > There's a very good reason why the Bible says that -- and in the

> current> African context, it's ten times as important. The fact

> of the matter is

> > that a living ox, who is well trained can provide a hundred

> times more

> > food to keep the villagers alive than a dead ox who is put on their

> > dinner plates for a few meals. If you kill the ox, you are actually

> > killing the people, because without his work, they will starve

> to death

> > -- and this is what is currently happening in Congo. They have no

> > trained oxen and they can't afford a tractor and gasoline, so

> they are

> > actually starving to death right now. So that logic will be very

> clear> to them."

> >

> > Everyone in the room nodded their heads when this piece of

> wisdom was

> > pointed out to them.

> >

> > your servant,

> >

> > Hare Krsna dasi

> >

> > -----------------------

> > To from this mailing list, send an email to:

> > Cow-Owner (AT) pamho (DOT) net

>

> -----------------------

> To from this mailing list, send an email to:

> Cow-Owner (AT) pamho (DOT) net

>

suchandra · November 22, 2006

My son Astottara-sata dasa, founded a non-profit organization called
Working Villages International, and he's working to set up a

self-sufficient village in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

[...]

Every day in Congo was a struggle filled with challenges, but what gives me hope is that every challenge was overcome. The Congo is a hard place, but it is a place where hard work does pay off, more so than I could have ever imagined. To the WVI staff, the villagers of Luvungi and myself, the Ruzizi Valley is not simply one of the most beautiful places on Earth, it is also a place of promise for the future, for a new way of life and living. I personally can not possibly express my feelings of humble gratitude and thankfulness to all the donors and supporters who are making this project possible. You are fulfilling the hopes, dreams and futures of so many Congolese, and I am personally very grateful.

Thank you all very much,

Alexander Petroff

President of Working Villages International

[...]

What is quite commen and often reported is that projects are being set up and as soon the work is finished there is a putsch and all the people who did the work are driven out the country. Of course I'm not a pessimist but Africans truly believe that US and Europe have destroyed and exploited their country back and forth to this very day and never will believe anything else. May be I'm not informed about the different regions which are a powder keg, on the other hand it is surely of great importance to gradually start to build up a fair economy in that huge continent.

UN not giving up on Darfur

<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = EXSL /><EXSL:STRING xmlns:exsl="http://exslt.org/common">Nov 16, 2006</EXSL:STRING>

The United Nations has not given up on sending its own troops to reinforce a peacekeeping force in Darfur despite strong Sudanese opposition, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in Nairobi, Annan also described the situation on Sudan's border with Chad as "very fragile and volatile" and said the UN might post observers there.

The African Union (AU) has 7,000 troops in Darfur, where some 200,000 people have died in three years of violence and more than 2.5 million have fled their homes - many into Chad.

"We are looking at the possibility of putting UN observers or some sort of international presence on the border and working with Chad's government to ensure refugees there are protected and cross-border attacks are minimised," Annan said.

"But we have not given up the idea of strengthening the force in Darfur."

The UN hopes to reinforce the AU force with hundreds of peacekeepers and technical support, eventually forming a large "hybrid" force under joint command. Sudan has rejected that, insisting that the AU must remain in charge.

Annan will take part in high level talks on the Darfur crisis on Thursday in Ethiopia, aiming to stabilise the region and improve access for humanitarian workers while pressing ahead with the implementation of the political process.

Sudanese state media said on Wednesday the country had expelled the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) from South Darfur state, accusing it of inciting the 2.5 million people in camps not to return home.

IOM officials said they had not been told of the decision.

The under-equipped and over-stretched AU force has struggled to protect civilians in the huge Darfur region from repeated attack and its mandate expires on December 31.

The conflict broke out in 2003 when local people, mostly non-Arabs, took up arms to fight for a greater share of power and resources. The government then backed Arab militia known as Janjaweed, who have pillaged, raped and killed.

Fighting between the government and Darfur rebels has spilled into both Chad and the Central African Republic.

"We are convinced that the deterioration in the situation in Chad and in Central African Republic could require the deployment of a peacekeeping mission," Jean-Marie Guehenno, the UN undersecretary-general for peacekeeping, told BBC radio.

A UN delegation is due to travel to both countries next week to evaluate what form any such mission should take.

The African Union's Commissioner for Peace and Security Said Djinnit told Reuters observers were crucial. "We cannot talk about the situation in Darfur without talking about Chad and the Central African Republic," he said in Brussels.

Annan has invited officials from the UN Security Council's permanent members to Thursday's talks in Addis Ababa, along with others from Egypt, Gabon, the EU and the Arab League. The AU has also invited Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa.

In Addis Ababa, the Sudanese rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) called for UN troops to be deployed to Darfur.

"The African Union force in Darfur has failed to protect civilians," JEM spokesman Idrees Ibrahim Azong told a news conference. "My message to Thursday's high-level meeting...is to deploy UN troops in Darfur to stop the ongoing mass killings."

UN Deputy Secretary-General Malloch Brown told reporters in Brussels flexibility was needed.

"If it is easier for the Sudanese to accept a largely African force - even if it is heavily supported by logistical communication and other assets by other countries - then as long as it can do the job that's fine," he said.

"I don't think one should get stuck on flags. It's going to be a hybrid of some kind."

Jean-Marie Guehenno, the UN undersecretary-general for peacekeeping, said on Tuesday Sudan was insisting the AU remain in charge of the force and rejected the idea of a joint command.

According to his speaking notes to a closed meeting of the Security Council, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir was generally supportive of the "lighter option" of UN assistance to the AU mission, known as Amis.

In Washington, a senior State Department official urged Sudan to accept the "hybrid offer."

"The proposal goes a long way to meeting the Sudanese government's stated concerns about a UN force," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.