Tom Morrison's blog

I had seen the book A Man to Match His Mountains but never read it. Its reputed theme was so simple and strong that I told myself I understood it well enough without having to work my way through the words: a Muslim man from a fierce warrior clan on the Pakistan-Afghanistan-India border emerges as one of Gandhi’s main co-workers in the cause of freedom and nonviolence.

“How can we be independent and self-sufficient?” This question is energetically posed to us by LouAnn Ha’aheo Guanson, director of the Pacific Justice & Reconciliation Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i. She is former vice chair of the National Council of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and also former vice president of the International FOR.

The “we” LouAnn refers to are people adhering to the ideals of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, two prototypes she and her co-workers follow in working with indigenous and other populations at the University of Hawaii, on the outskirts of Honolulu in homestead communities, and wherever the need seems to be. “It’s hypocritical to accept government money for what we do,” she says, since the government is so much a part of the problem.

Last night while at a farewell party for outgoing FOR Development Director Anita Fee, my wife Evelyn and I chatted with George Houser. I knew of him mainly as a leader both in the civil rights struggles of the ”˜60’s and also in the addressing of contemporary African issues, though I am sure there are myriad other things he has done for peace and justice throughout the years. “I could learn so much from you,” I told him. “Are you giving any talks or leading any workshops these days?”

“Every now and then,” he said. “There’s an article in the local newspaper just today about a visit I made to one of the local schools.” You can see that article and an accompanying video HERE, an excerpt is below.