Some days ago, we interviewed Cristina Ávila, journalist, animal lover, pacifist and creator of Peace Correspondent.
Today we want to extend her interview, with a less personal approach and focusing in her work with animal rights as journalist and manager of local organisation APAZ.
Cristina Ávila
“Peace is transversal, that is, peace goes through it all: politics, economics, ecology, human rights and animal rights …”
What is Peace Correspondent?
Corresponsal de Paz is a journalistic initiative that always focuses in the positive side of conflicts, and in the case of the conflict with animals there is no exception.
Rescued dog
We have published some news about cases with pacific solutions. From the beginning, the animal point of view was always a fundamental axis in our journalistic interests, as we think that peace is transversal, that is, peace goes through it all: politics, economics, ecology, human rights and animal rights …
Our focus tries to inspire compassion and there are no better masters of compassion than our planet pals.
Can you give us an example?
With this focus I wrote the story ‘Milagros Caninos’ (“Canine Miracles”) about one of the few shelters in the world specialized on handicapped dogs or with terminal illnesses, extreme abuse,…
This reportage shows the way we want to address our problems: the story of each one of these rescued animals is terrible and painful, but at the same time each case is beautiful because there is always the counterweight of human goodness facing our violence and evilness as specie, that is no more than incomprehension about life value, human or animal.
Cat rescued by Cristina
“I have no doubt that a human being aware and sensitized with compassion towards helpless animals is (or will be) a human being that would hardly harm another human being”.
Now you are starting a project related with peace and animals, can you explain us something about it?
Yes. After 3 years rescuing street animals and a whole life thinking that “something more can be done”, I decided to take charge of an already existing organisation that did not work.
When they told me the name of the organisation I know it was destiny: it was called APAZ (Asociación Protectora de Animales de Zacatecas), that in Spanish reads like A-PEACE, and Peace is my field of work since more than 8 years.
And this is how I started to work in changing all organisation focus. Now all efforts are focused on animal loving with a pacific touch or a pacifism with an animal touch.
Panda & Nicky, rescued and adopted
How do you relate pacifism and animal loving?
I have no doubt that a human being aware and sensitized with compassion towards helpless animals is (or will be) a human being that would hardly harm another human being.
For me social peace and animal care go hand in hand. In fact, several studies stated that more than 90% homicides had history of animal abuse… For this reason we want to work in the opposite direction and create a social consciousness that approaches and sensitizes us towards animals, those who are speechless and are weaker in a physical way but stronger in the emotional side.
Johnny had pellet wounds when he was rescued by Cristina
Is animal care the way to Peace?
Personally, human insensitivity to animals doesn’t hurt me anymore, because I’m pacifist and I’ve learnt that violence (and indifference is a form of violence) has always an origin, and this is the root where we have to act.
But what still really hurts me is the constant disqualification towards our task… because those who think that animals are inferior say that we are “insensitive to human tragedies, which really matter”. It hurts me that those who think that animals are dirty by nature, say that animal lovers are dirty as well (they usually tell me “I can imagine how do you have your house”).
“And this is how I started to work in changing all organisation focus. Now all efforts are focused on animal loving with a pacific touch or a pacifism with an animal touch”
For this reason in my animal-peace project I want to find the way to make people aware about animal rights but also about the work of rescuers. Because I think that it is fundamental to achieve social change to peace and coexistence and we have to understand the huge solidarity sense and the non for profit motivations that are behind animal lovers. I’m sure that in all conflicts worldwide today solidarity will be the salvation, solidarity will be what brings us forwards, towards a better world.
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